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Friday, June 27, 2008

Day 14 - Time Management

Ever feel like you have a billion things to do but not enough time to do them?

(Just for fun, let's put a "billion" in perspective: One billion seconds ago it was 1959. One billion minutes ago...are you ready for this one? Jesus walked the earth!)

I always say, if only I had more time! There are so many things in life I want to do and be, but I feel stifled by the restraints of time. But you know what? I don't use my time wisely. I am a slave to time, and I have allowed it to be stolen from me more times than not. What a waste!

"So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:12

I decided to "number my days," and I discovered that if I live until I'm 70, I have 42 years left on this earth (or 504 months, 2,184 weeks, 15,330 days - I have already been alive for 10,367 days). How am I going to use what I've got left? How are you going to use what you have left?

"The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot." Michael Altshuler

We are never going to "find" more time, which is why we are commanded to use it wisely (Ephesians 5:15,16). I like what Chuck Swindoll says,

"God has given you...sufficient time in each day for you to fulfill His perfect plan-including the interruptions!"

I never looked at it that way! Here I am complaining that there is not enough in the day (life), when what I'm really doing is saying, "God, you didn't know what you were doing when you created time on this earth." Um, He knows exactly what He's doing, and He knew exactly how much time we would need to accomplish His purposes. Talk about a renewed perspective!

There are plenty of time management resources for you to get your hands on, so for today your challenge is simply this:

Take an honest appraisal of your time. Write out how you are using the hours in your day, and keep a log; be specific. This is a good exercise to do, because once you can figure out exactly how you are spending your time, you can then pull the weeds of wastefulness and work towards a more productive and time wise schedule (which we'll be talking about on Monday).

"Those who make the worst of their time most complain about its shortness." La Bruyere

7 comments:

katylinvw said...

thanks sarah mae! another great installment! :)

Unknown said...

Excellent! I really need to do this. I need to manage my time better - there is a lot of time in the day; I just don't use it wisely.

Debbie J said...

The Lord showed me that when I thought I didn't have any time, I really had a lot! You have to put it all into perspective!

Trixi said...

I have to agree with the previous comment. I have plenty of time, I just don't tend to use it as wisely as I should. This post is a great reminder.
Blessings,
Trixi

Anna said...

Are you 28, then? So am I!
...including the interruptions. oops.
I've made progress, though. I have been packing for a trip- we leave tomorrow. I have just a few more things to fold, and then I'm DONE until tomorrow morning when we throw in the shampoo, etc. It's only 3:30! THAT is a personal best.

Anonymous said...

Awesome. Sometimes the stuff that is so simple just needs to be written out so I can read it. Thank you. It's good for me to know that others share my same struggles. I so stink at time management.

-- Brandi

Anonymous said...

What a great idea! Like a food diary- but for time. You don't realize how you're wasting it until you see it in print.