I spoke briefly on the idea of prioritizing in my previous post. On the same general topic, here is an excerpt from Herman Bavinck’s The Origin, Essence and Purpose of Man in which Bavinck speaks to man’s nature and purpose as he was created by God:
Work which is really work cannot have its end and final purpose in itself but always has as its further objective to bring something into being. It ceases when that objective has been reached. To work, simply to work, without deliberation, plan, or purpose, is to work hopelessly and is unworthy of rational man. A development which continues indefinitely is not a development. Development implies intention, course of action, final purpose, destination. If, then, man at his creation was called to work, that implies that he himself and the people who should issue from him should enter into a rest after the work.
Beyond determining priorities, I need to be sure that I am keeping the bigger picture in mind. I must identify the purpose of the work I have before me and consider systems or procedures to make those tasks most fruitful. Part of any task is creating a plan to complete the work and ultimately understand that rest is an essential part of the process. In the technologically connected culture we are in, how does rest really work? Especially in my situation, how can I use my times of rest most effectively and use the time I have with my family to their greatest potential?