How I Use the Nighttime to Rebuild My Businesses
Updated: Dec 20, 2021
I read somewhere that your day really starts at night.
Now, I’m very productive in the morning. I wake up ready to go after my day. I get a lot accomplished!
But what you don't know is that I set myself up for ultimate morning productivity the night before.
Dishes are done,
the gym bag is packed,
coffee is set up, and
I’ve checked my calendar and planned my next day.
Another thing I do at night is I'm moving any of my major projects forward. I use the nighttime to catch up on tasks and blast some emails for my team to read in the morning.
That's been my nighttime routine for years.
However, if I'm not careful, burning the midnight oil can also be a time of major distraction. Some things that distract me are my side projects, a game of Mario Kart, watching the news, late-night snacking, or social media snooping.
Normally, these activities would be considered as relaxing and unwinding from a hard day of work. But when you're rebuilding and relaunching your entire business, there needs to be a refocusing of our most prized commodity: our time. Nothing on this list is part of the plan of getting the task at hand done - restarting our business, God's way.
For those of us taking on the task of rethinking, reengineering, and relaunching a business or project, the nighttime is when the enemy wants to attack. He knows that during the day you're pumped and focused. It's at night when he plots his attack.
We’ve all been preconditioned to “relax” at night and take it easy. While I believe in turning the lights down lower to wind the day down in our brain, I don’t agree that it’s a time to go to sleep on our rebuilding project.
A commitment to rebuilding a God-first business is sacred time - we were ordained to do this! It’s our duty and responsibility in this season to stay focused.
In the Bible, we see that Nehemiah had the insurmountable task of rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. And during that rebuilding project, he was under attack by haters. And not just words, but the threat escalated to a potential physical confrontation. But Nehemiah didn’t get scared. He knew God had his back, he knew he had a purpose in what he was doing, so he did what great leaders do: move forward in the face of adversity.
Nehemiah 4:6-9 says
"So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart. But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the people of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat."
Nehemiah and his team posted guard....day and night.
I heard someone once say "white space in the calendar is the devil." He’s right! And if your nighttime calendar isn’t filled with something to-do (even sex and time with your wife should be on the calendar), then you’re giving way for the enemy to come in and attack what you've been rebuilding.
As we're rebuilding our businesses or relaunching a project, we need to realize that anything done in God's name is going to be attacked. We need to keep watch - day and night. Be expecting the attack, it's coming. And keep praying for God to give you the strength to thwart or endure that attack.
Pray today that you’ll also guard your nighttime and that God would cover you and give you the wisdom to be the best leader possible - day and night.
All my best,
Alex Miranda
Get to know me at www.alexmiranda22.com
P.S. I did a Business bible study called 40 Days to Restarting Your Business, God's Way. Check it out:
A business Bible study to help you rethink, reinvent, and restart your business, but this time, God's Way!
We parallel Nehemiah's rebuilding of the wall to your journey in rebuilding your business.
Also, coaches and Christian business leaders, you can use, edit, and repurpose the teachings for your own tribe! Check it out.