How to Make Rule #2 an Integral and Consistent Part of Our Daily Work

We're going to consistently make the effort to apply those two rules we've bandied about lately. At the risk of repeating our previous posts, :

1. I will always take more time than is necessary to do everything. This is the way to avoid being in a hurry and getting excited.

2. Since I will invariably have more things to do than time in which to do them, and this prospect preoccupies me and gets me all worked up, I will cease to think about all I have to do, and only consider the time I have at my disposal. I will make use of that time, without losing a moment of it, beginning with the most important duties; and as regards those that may or may not get done, I shall not worry about them.

Again, these were offered in The Soul of the Apostolate by Dom Jean-Baptiste Chautard. They're intended to help us assure the time and energy we need to build our Interior Life, the solid foundation for our efforts to grow closer to God. And since we're reminding ourselves here, let's remind ourselves too that our entire purpose in life is to attain holiness. Nothing else matters if we're not dedicating our daily efforts to this end.

Recalling last week's posts, having begun to apply these rules, some bumps rose up on road to success. Last time we talked about how we dealt with some issues related to Rule #1. This time we focus on #2.

While #1 takes some doing, experience tells me if you keep at it, you'll mostly know how much time is "more time than is necessary" - with some exceptions here and there.

So let's say you've got #1 down pretty pat. Now it's time for #2. #1 requires some will power, but even more practice. #2 requires lots more will power. Let's take it piece by piece to see why.

"I will cease to think about all I have to do..."

It helps if you're really well organized and have a reliable task list for the day's work. I've worked on this for years. The result: There are times when I honestly don't know what's up for the day's work until I check my list. I'm confident it's got everything necessary to be done for the day. If you can get this down, you'll find you can clear your mind of having to think about all you have to do.

This was most definitely not always the case - especially when I started my business in 2008. With virtually no experience running a business, and with the typical tight cash flow that comes with a start-up, I made up for my lack of experience by simply working constantly. And in those few moments when I wasn't actually working at specific tasks, my mind was packed with what I thought had to get done soon. Going to sleep and waking up found all this crowding my brain, sometimes to the exclusion of my evening and morning prayers. I just couldn't stop the constant, endless flow of "To-Do's" that kept me on edge much of the time.

Of course, this way of operating isn't really sustainable. Eventually you get tired and/or burn out. When I realized this, I started figuring out what I needed to do to assure that things got done without a 24/7 brain burn. We've talked about the specifics of getting organized like this in the past, so we won't spend time on this now. Just know that it's possible and it will be - with some slight exaggeration - a life-saver.

"...and only consider the time I have at my disposal..."

If you get #1 down, you should be in sync here. You've decided to block out more time than is necessary to complete everything. Do this enough times - and do it well - and you'll be set.

"...I will make use of that time, without losing a moment of it, beginning with the most important duties..."

Now, this one's going to take a little more unpacking than we have time for today. But before signing off, check the first two words here: "I will..." Here's where the rubber of "the will" meets the road. And this connects directly with our spiritual life. So much depends on our will. 

We've seen this and discussed it much in the past. Our will makes all the difference. This is critical in our spiritual life so that we can stop caring about our feelings so much. If you pray and don't get any warm and fuzzy feelings, who cares? You made the decision to pray and did so sincerely. How you feel is beside the point. If you've determined that you need to be contrite for something you did, and you say a sincere act of contrition right away, it doesn't matter that no tears of compunction or feeling of relief accompanies your prayer. It's certainly good if they do, but they're not necessary.

So too with our Rule #2. The critical moment for successfully enforcing the rule will be an act of the will: "I will make use of that time..."

More on this in our next post.