Put Down Your Phone and Pray

Our lives are busy. It seems that we don’t have much time to linger, to just spend time doing nothing. We are often caught in a perpetual rush, feeling increasingly behind. We wonder if we will ever catch up.

That’s why I’m interested in Laura Vanderkam’s new book Off the Clock, which is about how to feel less busy while getting more done. In the book, Vanderkam reveals the seven counterintuitive principles the most time-free people have adopted.

I’ve been listening to the book. One of her findings: people who feel like they have more time don’t pick up their phone as often. “Put down the phone,” she advises, “and reflect instead…The most relaxed people checked their phones about half as often as the people who felt most rushed.”

We have more time than we think!

Want to feel less busy? Don’t pick up your phone as much. Instead, use that time to reflect, or even to pray.

Of course, we don’t pray just because we want to feel less rushed. It is a nice side benefit, though. It’s okay to keep using our phones, of course, and we shouldn’t feel guilty when we fail. But prayer is usually going to be a better choice than checking Facebook one more time. Not only that, but our souls will flourish more and we’ll feel less rushed. I like the sound of that!