When I was working outside in the yard with Kathe recently, she screamed and told me to come over to the side of the house. In between us was a rather large snake. I assumed it was a harmless Gartner snake, which are common in Illinois, and walked over to pick it up and move it to the weeds. A thought ran through my head, “Hey honey, watch this!”

First red flag: It was larger than any Gartner snake I had seen before. I thought: Oh well, it must be an older one.

Second red flag: It moved much more quickly than a Gartner snake. I thought: Oh well, it must be scared.

Third red flag: It was brown and yellow instead of green and yellow. I thought: Oh well, it’s close enough to be one.

When I walked up to the snake, it was in a corner between a brick wall and the foundation of the house. I quickly reached down to grab it near the back of the head. It sprung faster than I expected, so I grabbed it too low. With its head free, it turned around and bit my knuckle.

For a split second, I felt like the apostle Paul who got bit and had the snake hanging off his hand while on the island of Malta (Acts 28:3-5). I instinctively slung it backwards into the weeds and the snake let go. With a puzzled look on my face, I told Kathe that Gartner snakes usually don’t bite. I looked down at the 6 or 8 small holes on my right hand that were starting to bleed and went in to wash my hands. Then I immediately went online to look up “snakes of Northern Illinois.”

As it turns out, this was a Western Fox Snake. They are not poisonous. They feed on mice and vols. They are often mistaken for rattlesnakes. They have small needle-like teeth, so my hand is fine.

But how did I miss all the red flags? Why do all of us tend to miss very clear red flags once in a while? In this case, I just wanted to solve the problem quickly and get back to yard work. I also wanted my wife to think I was cool. So I did not pay attention to the red flags that were clamoring for my attention.

Here are some ways to help you notice the red flags in your life.

1. Pay attention to what is actually in front of you. If you ever have a problem finding something in the refrigerator or a drawer, then you are not seeing what is actually there. You have an image in your mind of what you are looking for, but you are not seeing what is actually there.

2. Pay attention to what people are really saying. Have you ever had someone say to you, “No, that’s not what I said!”? Instead of listening to what we want to hear, we need to listen to what they are actually saying and to what they really mean.

3. Pay attention to what is changing in your environment. It is easy to continue doing the same things the same way and hope it works better next time. If that is not working, then what is changing? Something is changing! Figure it out.

4. Slow down before you act fast. Acting fast is good. Acting fast without looking for red flags first is bad.

5. Consider other possibilities. You think you know what the problem is. You know how to solve it. Before you take action, might something else be causing the problem? Are there other important variables you should be looking for? Has every other alternative been eliminated?

We see red flags in life every day. They are free. If we notice them, they only take a few moments to process, but the payoff can be huge. What will remind you to stop being so impulsive and to pay attention to the red flags in your life?

Why not be as intentional about your free time as you are about your time spent working? This doesn’t mean you have to work hard at relaxing, but being intentional about how you spend this precious time. You don’t have much of it.

For those who work full-time, their time each day is typically rationed as eight hours of sleeping, eight hours of working, and eight hours of free time. But oops, commute time is deducted from free time. Exercise and meal preparation is deducted from free time. Paying bills is deducted from free time. Your free time can easily slip away from you.

Many people say that want work-life balance. But if they are intentional at work and impulsive at home, then they will never find that balance they desperately need. Here are some ways to get control over your other eight hours.

1. Plan your free time on the same calendar as your work time
Some people have a disciplined habit of scheduling meetings and tasks at work, then work off of slips of paper at home. Why not be as organized at home as at work? With shared work calendars, some people cannot put personal appointments on work calendars, so they will have to develop a home calendar solution.

2. Keep a personal project list
Keep all of your home, family, and personal projects on one list. It may feel overwhelming when you first put it all on paper. Don’t get discouraged. List everything that needs to get done. List everything you are committed to accomplishing. Then keep reviewing our list.

3. Engage others in your new approach to free time
Let the other significant people in your life know what you are trying to do. Plan the week with your spouse. Share your personal calendar online with significant others. They will then be able to help you spend your free time wisely.

4. Schedule time with friends
I regret that I haven’t been able to spend time with some dear friends of ours. But guess what? I didn’t schedule it and it didn’t happen all by itself. Are you intentional about spending time with certain other key people?

5. Establish set times for exercise
You can walk in the early morning, go to the gym at noon, or workout after getting off the train. If you embed these times in your schedule you will be more likely to get the exercise you need.

6. Pursue a hobby
You can dabble at something or buy supplies and never seem to be able to get time to do it. You can let everything else claim your free time, or you can claim it and structure some protected time to engage in something that taps into how God has wired you.

If you work full-time, you only get eight hours of free time a weekday and you have a crushing demand from others on how to use that time. Why not get intentional about how you use the other eight hours?