All week-long my church has been celebrating “Jesus Week” and last night Bishop T.D. Jakes was our special guest. He was AWESOME as he is always. I missed a lot of the message because I was serving, but there was an important part that challenged me and I hope that it challenges you also.

Bishop Jakes stated last night that most of us aren’t operating to our full potential, we are operating at around 20% and because of it we aren’t being as effective as we should be. If I can be very candid, I realized that as effective that I thought I was being, I am really not even tipping the scale on a level that I could be if I were operating at 80%. Your car operates better on a full tank of gas, why should we settle for a half of tank. As a working parent, I have always thought if I was multitasking, I was being efficient. In reality–I’m not, I can only give my full attention to one thing at time in order to be operating at a high level of effectiveness. For example, right now I am writing, Morgan is watching Barney on the bed with me, I have a load of clothes in the washer and dryer, my computer is backing-up, and I am warming up dinner for my hubby. What I am giving most of my attention to?

Do you realize how much more effective so many areas of our lives could be if we committed to operating at “AT LEAST” 80%? I would actually do better in school, not just do enough to get an A but actually focus, I would be so much more focused at work, I would have more time to think creatively and come up with better ideas and methods to implement them, I would have 5 or 6 blog posts pre-written that way if I have a  busy week I would still have content to post, and most importantly my life would be less stressful.

Here’s a few tips to finding a few more minutes in your day so that you can operate on full tank.

1. This is a big one—-ASK FOR HELP-I know this is hard, this is hard for me, but in order to keep your sanity, you have to do it!

2. Add in small 10-15 minute breaks in your day to breathe, read, or just to gather your thoughts and you will realize how much the creative juices will start flowing. No social media during these breaks.

3. Prioritize your day–think your day out in the morning, so you know what you have to do ahead of time, and prioritize your tasks, everything does not have to be taken care of all in one day. Pace yourself!

4. Have fun, just relax, and Let everything that weigh you down GO!