Our world is so fast-paced, it can feel like everything is coming at us all at the same time - and we can’t do it all. Here are some tips on balancing a busy life without feeling overwhelmed or burned out.

Photographer: Alexander Neumann Fashion Editor/Stylist: Helene Fonton Hair Stylist: Shinya Nakagawa Model: Ros Georgiou

1. Pray

In his book How to Pray author and founder of the First Love Church, Dag Heward-Mills, says, ‘If you’re too busy to pray, then you’re too busy’. This quote is definitely one to remember, regardless of how busy or chaotic life gets. We should put God first in the midst of it all. Our faith and our relationship with God can take a back seat when we get busy and ‘life happens’ - but God wants to be involved, and we need Him to be!

Take your plans and goals to God in prayer. Ask Him for wisdom and direction on how to navigate your busy schedule. He cares about every detail of your life (Matthew 10:30-31), so surrender your days to Him. The Bible also teaches that we should trust in the Lord and He will direct our paths (Proverbs 3:5). So start your busy days with a word of prayer, trusting God to get you through them.

‘If you’re too busy to pray, then you’re too busy’

2. Plan

Planning is essential when it comes to balancing a busy schedule. It is almost impossible to achieve anything great without a set plan. Every organisation has clear objectives set out to achieve their aims. Likewise, in order to achieve our personal goals in the midst of our busy schedules, it’s beneficial to have set plans. It’s not enough to pray, we must also plan because faith without works is dead.

God Himself said He knows the ‘plans’ He has for us (Jeremiah 29:11). God plans, that’s enough reason for us to. Make your to-do list, set up your calendar, set out goals for each day. Regardless of how minute the tasks may seem, planning and ticking them off once completed can provide us with a great sense of accomplishment. There are many apps and tools to help us to organise our schedules and our workload, commit to exploring whether these might be beneficial for you.

‘God plans, and that’s enough reason for us to’

3. Prioritise

Prioritising is key when it comes to balancing a busy life. To avoid missing deadlines and falling into a cycle of disappointments and exhaustion, it is important to prioritise. Anything that isn’t done first, loses its significance. Jesus highlighted this point when He said ‘Seek first the kingdom of God…’ (Matthew 6:33). If God does not come first in our lives, other things will come ahead of him. Jesus understood the importance of prioritising and doing the most important things first.

After praying and giving our days to God, carrying out the most important tasks first can take some pressure off our busy schedules and bring some much-needed perspective into how we handle things. We ought to remember that everything has its place, and failure to deal with things in the right order can affect us and lead to an imbalanced life.

By prioritising, we can learn to manage our time wisely and eliminate unnecessary stress. So make a list, rank the points and get to work.

4. Play

Yes, it’s important to plan, strategise and prioritise. However, if we focus on all of these things all of the time, our lives can seem quite overwhelming. Being focused on work all the time can lead to burnout. Therefore, it is important to take some time for yourself to ‘play.’ Make sure there is time in your schedule for the things that aren’t serious but are restful, pleasurable and just as rewarding. God has modelled a practice of rest since the creation of the world as Genesis explains ‘on the seventh day he rested from all his work’ (Genesis: 2:2). Ensure you have the energy to prevent burnout and keep going.

WORDS BY

Onome Beberi

4 Tips on Balancing a Busy Life