If we stay in a cycle of busyness we will forever be overwhelmed, never having the time or energy to live out our God-given destiny. But if we ask God’s help in setting our goals and priorities, He will show us where to spend our time—and help us to prune the distracting activities that get in the way.

Here are a few ways to set boundaries on your time:

1. Make a stop-doing list

Our lives have gotten so cluttered up with things we think we “should” do, we can’t figure out what we were meant to do. Did you hear that? Our lives have gotten so cluttered up with things we think we “should” do, we can’t figure out what we were meant to do.

Let your life be about what you are meant to do, not full of what you think you should do. This starts with your daily decisions about how you spend your time.

The best way to identify what you want/need to stop doing is by asking yourself these questions:

• What is sucking the life right out of me?

• Does this activity get me closer to reaching my goals in life?

Answer those questions and you’ll find those items that need to be on your stop-doing list.

2. Learn to say no to self and others

Every decision we make about how to spend our time involves a trade-off. We can do this, not that. It sounds simple, but when we become aware of this, we tend to spend our time on more worthwhile activities.

Choose the momentary awkwardness of saying no (with love) and disappointing someone rather than saying yes and resenting it later.

How many times have you said yes to a commitment you knew you didn’t want to do, you didn’t have time to do, and you wouldn’t enjoy doing? If you are like me, you said yes, told yourself you’d make it work somehow, and hated every minute of it.

Are you doing things today that are urgent? Or important? When we put every choice through that filter, we are able to prioritize how to spend our time instead of being busy with no direction.

Excerpted with permission from Breaking Busy: How to Find Peace & Purpose in a World Full of Crazy (Zondervan) by Alli Worthington, copyright 2016 Alli Worthington.

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