You Have As Many Hours In The Day As Beyonce

Recently while perusing facebook, I saw a meme that said, “You have as many hours in the day as Beyonce”. For those of us who follow pop culture on the lowest level, you would know that Beyonce is a busy woman, she performs all over the world, does interviews, photo shoots, expresses her feminist beliefs, travels, is a wife, has a baby and does it all looking “flawless”. She’s a busy women and we are being told by the meme that if Beyonce can do all that she does, we can be just as busy and “productive” because we all live under the same time constraints.

Some people would say that I am a busy person, I work two part time jobs, I intern at a non-profit, I am a student leader at Intervarsity Christian Fellowship at CSULA and I go to class (oh and somehow I found time to write this blog). Not to forget the relationships that I have and try to maintain (#sorryforbeinganabsentfriend).

I believe that we can do so much in a single day, we can plan and work and be super productive. That is a good thing but we all know that too much of a good thing can be bad. Having every hour booked can be bad. Not having time to see the people you love can be bad. And not taking time to rest can definitely be bad.

I am learning to be intentional about my rest time and time I spend with my loved ones. One of the biggest lessons is that just because I am not doing anything, that doesn't mean I am resting. There are some days when I get home and I immediately flop on to the couch and look at facebook for a good amount of time. That may be restful for some people but it is not for me but I am doing that because I am bored.

So now I look at the time that I have to rest and do something that I find restful and life giving. Which could be taking a walk to the park and reading by the pond. It could be exercising with a friend. Listening to a devotional podcast or watching a movie with my boyfriend. And sometimes…actually a lot of the times it means getting to sleep early. Resting is important, especially if you want to be wonder woman who does it all. Plan time to rest and rest well. God took a day off and you can’t work harder than God, so be intentional about resting and taking a Sabbath.

I am also learning the importance of nurturing my relationships. Having a date night to put the phone away, close the textbooks, and check in with one another. If I do not communicate with my boyfriend then he won’t know how to pray for me or ask how I am doing in certain situations. It can be easy to get so busy that dates with your significant other and friends get pushed back until you realize that you have no clue what is going on in their life. I am not on campus as much as I was last year so I do not run into people very often. Which means that I have to make sure I am setting up those times to go and spend time with my friends.

That also means calling family members to check in a see how they are doing. Being intentional is the name of the game. If you care for them and want them to be in your life then you will make sure to carve out time for them.

Plus if you do not take the time to rest you will get burnout on whatever you are doing. You will probably be cranky and you won’t enjoy the things you usually enjoy. Or if you’re like me then you will fall asleep during prayer meetings (and your friends will mess with you :p). Your quality of life will plunge and your physical health will also suffer.

If you want to be like Beyonce and fill your day with work and activities or if you are forced to work that hard to survive make sure you are intentional about your time. Use it for rest and for the activities and people that you enjoy. Remember, you have as many hours in the day as Beyonce, so use them wisely.