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The Ultimate Productivity Tool
by a husband, who is the father of six children and a businessman

It must be stated without reservation that no other means has the unique efficacy of meditation,
and that as a consequence, its daily practice can in no wise be substituted for.
– Conversation with Christ: The Teaching of St. Teresa of Avila about Personal Prayer,
Peter Thomas Rohrbach, pg 9, quoting Pope Pius XII

Whenever I skip daily prayer, or rush through it because i can’t stop thinking about the mountain of projects awaiting me at work, my most frequent justification is, “i’m too busy.” And so after little or poor time spent with the Lord, i zip to the office, placing a substantial amount of trust in my productivity system and time-management tools to get as much done as possible.

I know i’m not alone in using the “i’m too busy” excuse to rationalize poor or inconsistent prayer. Too often we turn to a multitude of organizational, time-management, just-get-it-done tools and thinking to help us “get control” of our schedules. Sometimes we don’t even consider sitting in silence before the Lord as an option. We miss what is plain to many Christians who are not caught up in the dog-chasing-its-tail lifestyle. Namely, that prayer is actually the most practical thing we can do to help us face the responsibilities, packed schedules, deadlines and stress that come with our professions and vocations.

Move Over Day-Time and Franklin Covey
So how does God help us “work smarter” and get more done when we give up valuable time to be with Him? I’ve been conducting a little experiment based on this question, putting into practice St. Teresa of Avila’s technique for “meditation” (defined as an intimate, friendly conversation with Christ) as found in the book quoted in this article. What God is teaching me is really cool!

The first thing i’ve discovered is that, because God is the only source of true peace, spending time in conversation with Him means His peace rubs off on us. Conversing with our Creator and sharing silence with Him (especially before the Eucharist) fills our hearts and minds with a “peace that surpasses all understanding” (Phil 4:7). When we’re overwhelmed and freaking out, this peace helps us obey the Gospel commands to stop worrying I’ve found that when worry and anxiety decrease, so do my stress levels. Then, determination, clear thinking and hope increase! These help me become more productive during stressful times because they enable me to overcome the enemies of work effectiveness: procrastination, avoidance of unpleasant tasks and hiding behind non-productive busy work.

It’s Like a Rift in the Space-Time Continuum
The next discovery in my pursuit of Teresian daily meditation is harder to explain. That’s why i’ll let a prayer expert describe what i believe is happening in my life:

Meditation, naturally, consumes time. But this is not time lost; rather, the time expended in meditation aids in the ultimate conservation of time. This is true, first of all, because it places the soul under the direct influence of Christ, Who will then take complete charge of a person’s activities. And, further, the added perspective gained in meditation will enable one to better regulate his life by the separation of the non-essential from the essential (Rohrbach, pg 12-13).

By God’s grace i’ve seen a slow but amazing transformation in how even the busiest day no longer seems to spin out-of-control or leave me wondering where the time went and why i got so little accomplished. Through more time spent in prayer He has taken charge of my activities and given me the grace to let go of them. Spending time in prayer is like an investment. The more time spent, the more time we save, or get back.  And this investment is never at risk...it always pays dividends. 
Through prayer, the eternal Word who is above and outside time is breaking through into my schedule with His gift of timelessness to help me in very practical ways with difficult job challenges.

Heaven Can’t Wait
While my experiment in daily mediation has been a success and given me a hunger for more, i know that the ultimate end of prayer is not to become a productivity guru. Through His grace God will purify my motives so that i pray because i love Him for who He is, for His own sake, and not only for the fruit that comes from participation in His divine life.  We were created to love and be loved by Him, to know Christ and our loving Father, not just know about them. After all, it’s what heaven and eternity are all about: “This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you sent (John 17:3). May God help us pray in such a manner that eternal life begins during our earthly sojourn.

Vinculum members of Miles Jesu live the charism of Miles Jesu in their families and in their workplace.