Putting God First When Life Feels Overwhelming | Ep. 410

[00:00:14] Welcome to Hustle in Faith. This podcast is dedicated to helping women who want to analyze, apply, and amplify their God-given gifts. We accomplish this by discussing topics such as business, self-improvement, health and beauty, and my random thoughts about life from a Christian perspective. I'm your host, LaTosha Johnson. So lately, I have been on a quest to get better at managing my work-life balance. And when I say quest, I mean I'm really trying to figure things out.

[00:00:44] Because if I'm being completely honest with you, I just want you all to know that, honestly, I've been doing a whole lot more working than I have been doing living. And that's a problem. And I'm well aware of that. And recently, one of my coworkers mentioned something called the five buckets analogy. And I thought it was such an interesting way to visualize how we spend our time and our energy. And so I wanted to share that with you.

[00:01:11] So the basic idea is that you have five buckets in life. We have our work bucket, family, travel, hobbies, and faith. And every day, you have a limited amount of liquid to pour into those buckets. Think of that liquid as your time, energy, attention, and your capacity. Okay? You don't have an unlimited supply. And that's important because sometimes we behave like we do.

[00:01:41] And that's just not the case. We act as if we can completely fill every bucket every single day. But in reality, we know that we can't. You only have a limited amount of liquid, which again is your time and your energy to pour into these buckets each day. And so if you pour most of your energy all into one bucket, the other buckets are going to run dry. And that's just reality. Right?

[00:02:09] The balance doesn't necessarily mean, you know, I do want to make sure that we're aware of this. Balance doesn't necessarily mean that every bucket is filled equally every day. Okay? Sometimes one bucket needs more attention because you're in a particular season. The problem comes when one of those buckets stays full at the expense of everything else for way too long.

[00:02:39] And so for me, I know that my work bucket is overflowing. Okay? The first thing I thought about when I heard about this analogy is I realized that my work bucket has been overflowing way too much. Okay? In my faith bucket, well, let's just say it wasn't exactly overflowing. Okay? And I know better.

[00:03:05] I know better than to allow work to consume so much of my life that everything else starts getting pushed to the side. But sometimes knowing better and actually doing better are two completely different things. Right? So I'm trying to give myself some grace because I'm still learning a new job. I'm learning a new career and adjusting to a brand new environment. And so I've also been working a lot later.

[00:03:30] My travel bucket, well, that's pretty much non-existent right now. I can't wait to get back to traveling again. But I've been taking a lot of little weekend trips. So that counts. Right? But again, the travel bucket has been pretty low. My hobbies bucket, full transparency, it is bone dry. Okay? And I want to get back to getting, you know, getting back to exercising more consistently and all those good things.

[00:03:59] And my family bucket, that's okay. But even that could have been better. And that's when I realized something. Okay? I wasn't necessarily doing anything wrong by working hard. After all, I'm in a new season. I started a new job. I'm learning a new career. I moved. There are bills to pay. They're not going to pay themselves. Right? I'm trying to, you know, I've got responsibilities. I'm trying to do a good job.

[00:04:25] And so, yes, my work bucket is going to need more from me for this season. But here's the problem. I allowed my work bucket to take liquid from buckets that I couldn't afford to drain completely. That enters in my faith bucket. Okay? Especially my faith bucket. And I could feel the difference. I don't think anybody looking at me could necessarily know that I'm feeling this way.

[00:04:53] And honestly, I'm really glad about that. You know? But I know. Right? And so I know when something feels different internally. I don't feel like I have the same energy that I used to have. I've been feeling, to be quite honest, a little lost lately. And I've been feeling extremely stretched. And I've been asking myself, you know, why do I feel this way? And I think part of the answer is that I've been spending so much time working

[00:05:21] that I've neglected some of the things that help keep me grounded, especially my relationship with God. And that's a dangerous place for me to be. Okay? Dangerous place for me to be. Because I know myself well enough to know that when I start to get disconnected spiritually, everything else is going to feel a little more chaotic. And that's why I keep coming back to this principle. God has to come first.

[00:05:49] Not because work isn't important. Work is important. Bills are real. Responsibilities are real. Career development is real. But God has to remain the foundation. And so Jesus said in Matthew chapter 6, verse 33, But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. That's the part I had to remember. Seek first. Again, seek first.

[00:06:17] Not seek God when I finish everything else. Not seek God when I have a little free time. Not seek God when, you know, after I've completed all of my chores, right? After all my work is done. Because let's be honest, right? There's always going to be more work. There's always going to be another email, another meeting, another assignment, another deadline. Another thing that needs to be done.

[00:06:41] And if I waited until everything is done, you know, me waiting until everything is finished makes absolutely no sense, you know, before I make time for God. Because I'm going to be waiting forever, right? And Ecclesiastes chapter 3, verse 1 says that for everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven. And I think that's another important piece of this conversation.

[00:07:06] Because maybe you're in a season where your work bucket legitimately needs more attention, right? Maybe you're building a business. Maybe you're starting a career. Maybe you're going through school. Maybe you're caring for an aging parent. Maybe you're rebuilding financially. And quite frankly, maybe, like me, you're starting over, right? Sometimes one bucket really does need more liquid. And that's okay.

[00:07:35] The goal isn't perfect equality for all the buckets. The goal is intentionality. And so the question that I want to ask you is, you know, and one that I've asked myself, am I consciously choosing where my energy is going or am I allowing one bucket to consume everything? And that's a completely different choice. There's something about this five buckets analogy that really stood out to me.

[00:08:04] And it's what I would call the workflow. That's when work doesn't just fill the work bucket. It starts spilling into everything else. Work spills into family times. Work spills into hobbies. It spills into your weekend. Work spills into your sleep. I'm on very little sleep right now doing this episode. Work sleeps into your relationship with God. And eventually, you're just going to look up and realize, wait a minute.

[00:08:33] When was the last time I did something just because I enjoyed it? Right? And that's when you have to really start paying attention, okay? Because productivity isn't the same thing as purpose. Again, productivity is not the same thing as purpose. Being busy isn't the same thing as being fruitful. And having a full calendar doesn't necessarily mean that you're living a full life.

[00:09:01] And another trap is what I would call the dry spell. That's when certain buckets stay empty for so long that you almost forgot what they feel like when they're full. So maybe you haven't traveled in years. Maybe you stopped doing hobbies. Maybe you stopped spending intentional time with your family. Maybe you haven't had a real Sabbath, right? Maybe your Bible has been sitting on that nightstand untouched.

[00:09:31] And eventually, you start wondering why you're feeling stagnant or resentful or exhausted or disconnected. And sometimes it's because you've been pouring everything into one area while you're allowing the other areas of your life to dry up. And then let's talk about another trap, guilt, right? Sometimes we feel so guilty that we can't fill all the five buckets to the top every day. And that's just not realistic.

[00:09:59] You don't have to have a perfect work-life balance every single day. Some days are going to be work heavy. Some days are going to be family heavy. Some seasons are going to require sacrifice. The goal is imperfection. The goal is periodically stepping back and asking, what's running low? What needs my attention? And what have I been neglecting? And most importantly, where is God in all of this, right?

[00:10:29] And I want to say something specifically to those of you who are single. Because quite frankly, I don't care what anybody says. There are unique financial pressures that can come with being single, okay? When you're one person, you are literally carrying your entire household financially. There's no second income automatically coming into the home to rescue you, right?

[00:10:54] It is literally just your paycheck, your bills, your emergencies, your retirement, your insurance, your everything, right? And because of that, I completely understand why a single person might feel pressure to keep the work bucket extremely full. You may be thinking, you know what? I can't afford to slow down. I need this job. I need the overtime. I need to get ahead. I need to save more. I need to make more money. And those concerns are legitimate. Trust me, they are.

[00:11:23] But we also have to be careful that financial responsibility doesn't turn into allowing work to become our entire identity, right? Because ultimately, my paycheck is not my provider. God is, right? God is the provider. And that's a distinction that I have to remind myself of as well. And so interestingly enough, I'm taping this on a Monday.

[00:11:50] I had a little reminder of this recently. I took some time away from work, work, work, work, work. And I decided, I said, you know what? I'm going to spend some time and enjoy my time with my mom. And so I did. We went outside. We went for a walk on the Greenway. I absolutely love the Greenways. We explored some places we hadn't seen before. And I really spent time with my mom. And I felt different. Quite frankly, I felt energized.

[00:12:19] I felt like myself again. And did I eventually do some more work? Absolutely. You betcha I did, okay? But here's what was different. I didn't let the work come first. Because even before I did the work, I did my Bible study, right? And I spent some much needed time with God. And I enjoyed my day. And then later, I did some more work while I was watching television, okay?

[00:12:46] And I remember thinking, there is a time and season for everything. I don't have to eliminate work. I just have to put work back in its proper place. And so the thing I want you to think about, if you're struggling with a work-life balance, is that maybe you don't necessarily need more time. Maybe you need to become more intentional with the time you already have. Right? Because sometimes we ask God, give me more time.

[00:13:14] When the prayer really needs to be, God, help me steward my time. Steward the time that you've already given me. Right? Psalm chapter 90 verse 12 says, So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Now that is a powerful prayer. Lord, teach me how to use my time wisely. Teach me what deserves my attention. Teach me what deserves to be released, what needs to be postponed. Teach me what needs to be prioritized.

[00:13:42] And teach me, most importantly, when to say no. And no is a complete sentence, by the way. All right? Sometimes work-life balance isn't about figuring out how to squeeze another five things into your day. Sometimes it's about deciding what or who doesn't belong on your schedule in the first place. And so that's where I am right now. I'm literally trying to get better. I'm trying to take my own advice.

[00:14:10] I'm trying to remember that this season is temporary. And yes, I'm learning a new job. Yes, I'm learning, you know, building a new career. And yes, I have responsibilities. But I don't want to look up six months from now and realize that I built this successful work life while neglecting the rest of my actual life. Right? I don't want my work bucket to be overflowing while my faith bucket is bone dry. Because I know that when my faith bucket is full,

[00:14:39] everything else starts to look different. I have more perspective. I have more peace. I make better decisions. I'm more grateful. I'm more present. And most importantly, I don't feel like I'm carrying everything by myself. And so Philippians chapter four, verses six through seven, reminds us not to be consumed by anxiety, but to bring our concerns to God through prayer and thanksgiving. And that's God's peace.

[00:15:07] And that God's peace can guard our hearts and minds. Right? And maybe that's what some of us need to do right now. Not another productivity hack, not another planner, not another journal, not another time management app. Maybe we just need to stop. Stop. Get quiet and say, God, I've been trying to manage everything on my own. Please help me to put you back in the center. And so I want to leave you with this question.

[00:15:34] What do your five buckets look like right now? What's overflowing? What's running low? And what's completely dry? Is your work bucket taking liquid from your family bucket? Is your career taking everything from your hobbies? Have you stopped traveling? Have you stopped doing the things that bring you joy? And most importantly, what does your faith bucket look like? Maybe the answer isn't that you need to quit your job.

[00:16:04] Maybe you just need to rearrange your priorities. Maybe you need to start your morning with God instead of your phone. Maybe you need to protect your Bible study time. Maybe you need to establish a Sabbath. Maybe you need to stop working at a certain hour. And I know that's something I need to get better at. Maybe you need to take that walk. Maybe you need to call your mom. Maybe you need to go outside. Maybe you need to do something that reminds you that you are more than what you produce.

[00:16:33] And if you're in a season where your work bucket is taking more energy right now, that's okay. Just don't forget to come back and check the other buckets because seasons change. And the bucket that's low today may need to be filled tomorrow. So if you're struggling with your work-life balance right now, I want you to know you're not alone. I'm figuring this out too. And I'm in a new season.

[00:17:03] I'm learning a new job. I'm adjusting to a new career. I've moved. I've been working a lot. And honestly, I felt a little lost. And that's why you haven't seen me online as much. And I've never been a person who really lives online anyway. But lately, I've been even more disconnected from it because I've been trying to figure out how to manage this new season of my life. And that's okay. Sometimes we have got to step back from being visible to get ourselves grounded again.

[00:17:33] And so I'm reminding myself, and maybe I'm reminding you too, there's a time to work. There's a time to rest. There's a time to build. There's a time to enjoy. There's a time to serve. And there's a time to be still. And through all of those seasons, God needs to remain at the center. Because when I put God first, I don't necessarily have fewer responsibilities. But I do have a different perspective on those responsibilities.

[00:17:58] When I put him first, I find out that I have more room in my schedule than I thought I did. Because he frees me up from some of the stuff I thought I had to do. So, you know, let me know right now. What season are you in right now? What do your five buckets look like? What bucket is overflowing? Which one needs attention? Which one have you been neglecting? And if you're watching this on YouTube, leave me a comment.

[00:18:23] And if you're listening to this on your favorite podcast directory, feel free to send me a message via email or text. I would genuinely love to hear from you. Because we're all going through something, right? And sometimes the reminder we need is simply this. You're not behind. You're not failing. You're learning how to steward the season you're in. And don't forget, put God first. Fill that faith bucket. All right?

[00:18:50] And then let him help you figure out what to do with everything else. Thanks so much for listening to this episode. If you enjoy listening to Hustle in Faith and would like to support the show, please consider sharing it with your friends, rate or leave a review, donate or make a purchase at our shop starring you crew. Remember, if you're everything to everyone, you risk being no one. You never know who you will inspire.

[00:19:20] See you in the next episode.