When the Lord designed our lives, He intentionally included limitations. One of those fixed limitations is time. Every human being receives the same twenty-four hours each day.
Yet each of us has a different relationship with time.
Some of us are naturally slower paced. Others procrastinate. Some move quickly just to get tasks off their plate, while others try to outsmart time by waking earlier, working later, or squeezing just one more thing into the day.
Our season of life also shapes our relationship with time.
Are you a young professional who answers only to yourself and your work schedule? Are you raising babies or toddlers while juggling work, daycare pickup, dinner preparation, and trying to carve out a little time for self-care? Or are you in a season where your children have left home and you enjoy a more flexible schedule, especially if you’re retired or semi-retired?
Here’s something I’ve learned from coaching hundreds of clients:
Time limitations can actually lead to greater freedom.
When we understand both our natural approach to time and the season of life we’re in, we can work with the limits of time instead of constantly fighting against them. We become more intentional about prioritizing what matters most rather than overscheduling ourselves. This allows us to honor healthy boundaries, embrace proper rest, and pursue a sustainable work-life rhythm.
However, when we ignore the limitations of time, we often try to outsmart it. We convince ourselves we can squeeze in just one more commitment, finish one more project, or push through one more late night. Eventually, we find ourselves burned out, desperately searching for enough time to carry all our responsibilities.
But there is another relationship with time that can be just as challenging.
Perhaps you’re in a season with larger pockets of unscheduled time. Surprisingly, this can become its own obstacle. More available time can lead to overthinking, over-strategizing, and the temptation toward perfectionism. When there isn’t an urgent deadline, it’s easy to keep tweaking, refining, and waiting for the “perfect” moment.
We tell ourselves, I still have time to work on it. Or… It just needs one more revision.
Without realizing it, we procrastinate—not because we’re busy, but because we have the luxury of more time than pressure.
This week I was listening to Emily P. Freeman’s book, How to Walk into a Room, specifically the chapter on readiness. She shared how the team behind Saturday Night Live writes sketches, rehearses, tests material with audiences, makes revisions, and prepares an entirely new live show every single week.
Then she quoted creator Lorne Michaels: “We don’t go on because it’s ready. We go on because it’s 11:30 p.m. Saturday night.” What a powerful picture of readiness.
The limitation of time didn’t hinder creativity—it fueled it. The team didn’t have the luxury of endless revisions, overthinking, or agonizing over every detail. The deadline forced progress. Ironically, that consistent rhythm has helped sustain one of television’s longest-running shows for more than fifty years.
So let me leave you with a few coaching questions:
- What is your current relationship with time?
- How has your season of life shaped that relationship?
- Does your natural wiring cause you to rush, procrastinate, overcommit, or over-perfect?
- What would it look like to embrace the God-given limits of time instead of resisting them?
- How might this self-awareness change the way you approach the days, weeks, and months ahead as you steward the assignments God has given you?
Finally, what Scriptures help anchor your perspective on time?
One of my favorite memory verses is Psalm 90:12:
“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
I’d love to hear from you.
What verse helps shape your relationship with time?
