Life-Giving Vs. Life-Draining

In the 21st century, it's easy to be busy. I hate being busy, but sometimes it's unavoidable.  More often than not, though, my kids will be found playing in their own backyard, reading books leisurely or fighting imaginary battles with each other rather than racing around town.
I believe down-time, low-stress time, time at home is essential for all of us, so Adam and I are both intentional about what we schedule.  Every Sunday, we schedule time at  home.  We go to church, then we eat lunch and go home to take a nap and spend time together.

For me, before an event goes on our calendar I ask myself, "Will this be life-giving or life-draining?"  Life-giving events are those that we can make a difference at and will make a difference to us.  Life-draining events leave a negative impact by being a waste of our valuable time.  Here are some questions I ask myself mentally before I raise my hand to volunteer or RSVP.

Are we actually needed here and can we be useful, or are we attending an event that will cause us to rush to it only to be sitting down not enjoying ourselves?  Is this an event that will be positive for me or my family or is this just a bunch of people sitting around gossiping?  Is this event unique or does it happen every week?

With this intentionality we are able to filter activities and fill our calendar with almost-completely life-giving events.  The life-giving, life-draining scale doesn't just apply to events before they happen.  I also use it to decide when to leave.

Yesterday was my day to tutor students on reading.  It was also the day before a state-mandated test, so the school administration didn't actually need me the whole day.  I spent my morning hanging butcher paper on walls to cover instructional material.  I also bubbled in test manual numbers.  Once I finished that I realized that my work for the day was done and the rest of the day would be life-draining.  So instead of just wandering around the school gossiping or trying not to be underfoot, I asked if I could leave.  I did.  Then the day switched from being life-draining to life-giving.  I picked up a delighted Paul from preschool and we went to the zoo.  We had a fabulous time, just the two of us.

My paycheck from this week will be smaller than normal, but it was worth every penny.

Paul was excited about this particular trip to the zoo because he got a snow cone, caught a unique bird, and was able to pet a squirrel's tail.

Sometimes I'm caught in a life-draining activity.  Unfortunately, some are unavoidable.  But what I like to do is flip it into a life-giving one.  I'll clean out my purse, organize my coupons, write in my journal, or just think and pray. With the kids, I'll play tic-tac-toe or try to teach them an unfamiliar concept.  I find that on most activities, you can flip a switch or just leave.

Life is too short to be a drain.