To do your best at what God’s called you to do, you must do these: 1) Remove distractions. This isn’t easy, as most people now get hundreds of emails, texts, and tweets every day. But it’s important to try, by being disciplined and keeping your priorities in place. That might mean changing the way you normally work – not always doing the easy things first, or the hard things first, or the urgent things first. Sometimes it might look like focusing on the activities that provide you with the highest return. 2) Protect yourself from distractions. One leader wrote: ‘I need blocks of time to think without interruptions. I’ve mastered the art of making myself unavailable when necessary and going off to my “thinking place” so that I can work without interruptions…however, I am always aware of the tension between my need to remain accessible to others as a leader and my need to withdraw from them to think.’ Jesus often stepped back from activities and prayed (see Luke 5:16). To know people’s needs, He spent time with people. To meet people’s needs, He spent time with God in prayer. As a result, He was always in the right place, at the right time, with the right people, doing the right things. And you must do that too! If you’re naturally a quieter person, then use it to your advantage and be a good listener and observer when you’re around others – you can learn a lot. If you’re inclined to be always ‘on the go’, then make a conscious effort to step back occasionally so that you can be refreshed and refocused on God’s calling for your life. ‘Look straight ahead and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. Don’t get sidetracked’ (Proverbs 4:25-27 NLT).
