It's 8:22pm in the St. Pierre household and you have one child to be put to bed in 8 minutes. The other three are going to be sleeping (right?) by 9pm.

This is pretty typical in my family and I'm wondering about yours. The issue is simple enough- what do you do when you have small bits of time to spend? Do you waste them or make the most of them?

The temptation is to say, "the heck with it" or "Mike, you're micromanaging the clock!" All I know is that God gives us time in order to use it. I figure we ought to use it well.

So back to the scenario at hand. In my house, we typically try to match the activity with the level of energy. Have ten minutes before bed? Choose a low-level activity that doesn't require much brain power. This could be tidying up a room or folding a pile of clothes.

On the other hand, if you're given a 30-45 minute block of time, you may want to settle in for a deeper level of activity. This is a gift to use more wisely. You could do some writing, have a meaningful conversation or clean out your inbox.

Whatever your block of time, try to see it as a gift.

Which tasks do you typically reserve for small blocks of time? Likewise, which ones do you tackle when you have a lot of energy?

Photo courtesy of CK