What Obama’s Time Says About Him
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As I mark the first day of what someone today called “Parent’s Fall” (aka all the kids back in school), I’ve been continuing my weekend reflections on rhythm changes for our family.
With school comes new schedules and patterns. I’ve been approaching these changes purposefully and intentionally to make sure that I make the most of the change in routine.
I’ll blog later this week on the ‘new rhythm’ I’ve adopted for the fall. For now, I wanted to share a great little article from a few months ago. It ran on the CBS MoneyWatch.com site and gave some practical ‘time’ advice examining how President Obama spends his day…
I love to know how people spend their time, so you can imagine my glee when I came across a Newsweek article over the weekend where Obama explains his typical day:
“I’m a night owl. My usual day [is]: I work out in the morning; I get to the office around 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m.; work till about 6:30 p.m.; have dinner with the family, hang out with the kids and put them to bed about 8:30 p.m. And then I’ll probably read briefing papers or do paperwork or write stuff until about 11:30 p.m. and then I usually have about a half hour to read before I go to bed . . . about midnight, 12:30 a.m. - sometimes a little later.”
You might not know it, but there is a treasure trove of information in this little paragraph about what the leader of the most powerful nation in the world values. Let’s CSI this…
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Joseph Louthan shared their voice on 08.11.2009:
I am exactly like Obama.
I don’t have to go to sleep until midnight or 1am. I get up at 7ish and get to work by 8.
My best thinking is done at night so that is when I work on studying, exegetical work, prayer, reading Scripture at night and do tent-building (IT work) during the day.
I didn’t realize this rhythm until a couple of years ago. Therefore the tent-building jobs that I take are less in skill and pay less so I can do a better job and bring more honor to my employer. Hence, I keep my best thinking/processing energy with studying the Word.
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Daniel Decker shared their voice on 08.10.2009:
I think really being tuned in to who we are and knowing our natural rhythm, or biorhythm, is key to finding balance and maximizing each day. Like a car that goes out of alignment, we also have to make adjustments periodically based on the season and changes around us. I know for me, I can hit a pot hole every now and then that throws everything off but usually I am pretty quick to get back on track. I find myself recalibrating every few months or so just to make sure I’m staying aligned in the direction I want to go.
For me, my current rhythm is usually waking up at 5:30 or 6am, spending time with God’s word, then a workout or some sorts, breakfast with the kids, then hitting the workday no later than 8am. Usually end the core of the work day around 4:30pm and then it’s family time until the kiddos go to bed around 8:30pm. After that I’ll spend time catching up on blog posts, links I saved from Twitter throughout the day, reading, etc. Also spend the night time thinking as that proves to be a time for me that spawns a lot of creative ideas (natural rhythm for me as I am a night person). Usually knock off and head to bed around 11pm. BTW… my wife is involved in a lot of this stuff above. We exercise together, work together, etc. That helps create a solid balance in our lives as well. We stay connected on all things and we talk, a LOT! I try to keep balance with her too by making sure I listen more than I speak. :)