4 Reasons Why You Have More Time if You Pray

You May Be Too Busy Not to Pray

Prayer is an unusual activity. With most activities, if you engage in them, you have less time for other things. But not so with prayer. Engaging in prayer provides more, not less, time for other things. Philosopher and author Peter Kreeft puts it this way: “We think our lack of time is the cause of our lack of prayer, but our lack of prayer is the cause of our lack of time.”

Woman engaged in prayer

Following are 4 reasons—drawn from billionaires and from saints—why it is, paradoxically, the case that you have more time if you pray. (more…)

Money Can Buy Happiness? It’s About Time.

New Research Reveals a Previously Unexamined Route to Happiness: Spending Money to Buy Time

If you were given $40 on the condition that you had to spend it, what would you spend it on? What type of purchase do you think would increase your happiness?

If you’re like 98% of people studied, you wouldn’t choose to spend the $40 on time-saving services such as someone else cleaning, shopping, or cooking for you. But new research suggests you might want to rethink that decision. (more…)

Want What Matters Most? Waste Time on It.

The Importance of Wasting Time, Part 2 of 2

In my previous post, I argued that in certain situations wasting time can, paradoxically, lead to greater efficiency. But there are higher goods than efficiency. And those goods often cannot be obtained in any other way than by wasting time on them.

My daughter and her great grandma, my dad’s mom

In this post I’ll provide examples of such goods and a principle for when to waste time in their pursuit. (more…)

Why Wasting Time can be More Efficient

The Importance of Wasting Time, Part 1 of 2

It is important to waste time. Yes, to waste it. Probably not what you’d expect someone who loves efficiency as much as I do to say. But there are two good reasons to waste time. First, sometimes wasting it is, paradoxically, more efficient. Secondly, some things in life are more important than efficiency. Wasting time can honor those things.

Baby falling asleep

In this post I’ll show how wasting time can sometimes be more efficient. In my next post in this two-part series, I’ll argue for wasting time in certain circumstances where it doesn’t lead to greater efficiency. And in each post I’ll provide a framework for helping you decide when to waste time vs. when not to.

Here’s why wasting time can be more efficient: (more…)

Why a Time Budget Helps You Achieve What Matters Most

And How to Make a Time Budget in 4 Steps

This is a guest post written by Mike Antonacci. Mike is a blogger who focuses on helping people become the hero God is calling them to be. For those who know Mike, his life provides a great example of how to accomplish what matters most to you by budgeting time.

Do you ever wish there were more hours in a day? Or feel like your schedule is crowded with external demands and you don’t have time for the most important things? If so, you’re not alone. Around half of Americans report not having enough time to do what they want. In this post, I’ll show you how to make a time budget. A time budget allows you to see where you’re going, stop drifting in life, and do what’s most important to you.

Clock representing the need to budget your time

Here’s how to make a time budget in 4 steps: (more…)

How to Read 7,000 Pages per Year the Easy Way

Or any other Number. 7,000 is Just what I Happen to Read.

Do you wish you could read more but can’t find the time? Or do you ever feel embarrassed that you aren’t more well-read? If so, I’d like to show you how to devour books in the least amount of time possible. And it’s not through speed reading. It’s not through audio books, either. Not exactly. I’ve used this process to read more than 7,000 pages per year each of the last three years.

Headphones plugged into book

To a small minority, reading 7,000 pages per year is no big deal. To a vast majority, however, that is a shockingly large number. After all, 28% of Americans don’t read a single book in a given year. The median number of books Americans read per year is 4, meaning they maybe read 1,000 pages/year or so.

Whether you’d like to read 4 books pear year or 40 books per year, the method I use will help you achieve your goal. Here’s the method, followed by my answers to questions/objections you might have to it: (more…)

5 Reasons Your Team Should Quit Email, Text, & IM and Slack Instead

Slack is a More Efficient way for Teams to Communicate

If 18 months ago you had told me that my team would no longer need email, text messaging, or instant messaging to communicate with each other, I would have thought you were crazy. No IM, maybe. But no email and text? No way. Yet here we are, with no need of those tools anymore. And it’s all because of Slack.

Coworkers thinking and talking

In this post I’ll explain what Slack is and how my team uses it. Then I’ll share 5 reasons why I recommend it for your team, too. (more…)

How to Save $760 on Groceries in No Time

How to Save Money on Groceries, Part 1 of 2

The average American household spends over $4,000 per year on groceries. As a result, saving even a small percent on groceries can add up. That said, many cost-savings tactics—like clipping coupons—often aren’t worth the time. The question is: how can one save the most money on groceries in the least amount of time?

Man delivering groceries to a woman at her home

In this two-part series of posts, I’ll share 5 ways to quickly save on groceries. Today I want to share my #1 recommendation: (more…)

How to Increase Efficiency with Context-Optimized Tasks

There are many ways to approach the tasks on your to-do list. The relative urgency of tasks can’t fail to play a role. The importance of tasks should play a greater role. But in this post I want to focus on an often-overlooked aspect of task-management: context. Most tasks are well-suited to being worked on in certain environments but ill-suited to others. Working on tasks optimally suited to the context you are in at any given time can greatly increase your overall work efficiency.

Scrabble-type letters spelling "context"

In this post I’ll explain what I mean by “context” and show how to increase efficiency by choosing tasks well-suited to any given context. (more…)

In a Difficult Situation? Change, Leave, or Accept It.

Do you ever feel stuck in life? Like you’re caught in a negative situation that you can’t do anything about? I think we all do at times. Perhaps you’ve felt this way in a relationship, a job, or any number of other circumstances. There are few poorer or sadder ways to spend this life’s limited time than feeling trapped and powerless.

Man looking out over the ocean, contemplating a difficult situation

Such situations are frustrating. They make it hard to live for what matters most. It’s easy to complain about them, but complaining doesn’t make them better. In fact, it makes them worse.

There often aren’t easy answers to such situations. And I’m not about to provide one. But I did read something recently that I found illuminative and empowering for circumstances such as these. The simple quote I read is this: (more…)