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Have you ever had one of those days where no matter how hard you worked you felt like you accomplished nothing? More often than not, those frustrating scenarios are the result of working on the wrong things. Jesus said to Martha in Luke 10:42, “Only a few things are necessary, really only one.” If that’s true and there are really only a few things that are essential, what would happen if we directed our most productive hours to them?

Stephen Covey hones in on this principle with his time management challenge to “do first things first.” His premise is simple–if we routinely give the first fruits of our time to our priorities, everything else will fall in to place. Conversely, if we start with our lower level, non-essential tasks, we will never have time to do what really matters.

Let’s try it this week (and this year and this life). Let’s identify two or three of the most important things in our lives–the things that, if completed, would give us the deepest sense of satisfaction and accomplishment–and then let’s work hard on those few areas.

What things are “necessary” for success in your spiritual life, your family, your key relationships, your ministry, and your profession? Let’s live in the “necessary,” and then see if the other parts of our lives might fall more readily in to place.