By: Rick Warren
One of our biggest challenges in life is the use of time. During an average lifetime of 72 years, experts tell us, we spend: 21 years sleeping, 14 years working, seven years in bathroom basics (I think my teenage daughter has already used her time), six years eating, six years traveling, five years waiting in line, four years learning, three years in meetings, two years returning calls, one year searching for things lost, 22 months in worship, eight months opening junk mail, six months waiting at traffic lights. No wonder the average married couple spends four minutes per day talking, or children say, “Let’s go to work to see Daddy.” The average parent, studies indicate, spends 30 seconds per day talking to their children!
How do you use your time? Do you find yourself saying, “I don’t have enough time”? Is God a cosmic sadist to have created only 24 hours in a day? Is that not enough time to do all we must do? Charles Richards said, “Don’t be fooled by the calendar. There are only as many days in the year as we make use of. One person gets a week’s value out of a year, while another person gets a year’s value out of a week.”
The Bible says, “There is a right time and a right way to do everything” (Ecclesiastes 8:6), but we know very little about it. The problem isn’t having enough time but how we use the time we have. “I have used up my strength but I have accomplished nothing” (Isaiah 49:6).
WHAT DOES GOD SAY ABOUT TIME MANAGEMENT?
It is the mark of WISDOM. “Live life with a due sense of responsibility, not as ones who do not know the meaning of life, but as those who do. MAKE THE BEST USE OF YOUR TIME…” (Ephesians 5:15-16).
It is the act of STEWARDSHIP. “Now is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful”
(2 Corinthians 4:2).
It can be LEARNED. This is a key. Time management can be learned. “Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are. Help us to spend them as we should” (Psalm 90:12).
THREE STEPS FOR “FINDING” TIME
1. ANALYZE YOUR LIFESTYLE. Where are you spending your time? Evaluate a day, a week, and a month. Are you better off physically, mentally, relationally, emotionally and spiritually than six months ago? “So pay close attention to how you live. Don’t live like ignorant men, but like wise men” (Ephesians 5:15). “There is a way that seems right…but it leads to death” (Proverbs 14:12).
2. UTILIZE THE PRESENT. Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow is a promissory note. Take advantage of today. “Never boast about tomorrow. You don’t know what will happen between now and then” (Proverbs 27:1).
* Learn to combine activities. In “prime time” (high priority items), allow no interruptions. In “grind time” (medium to low priority), try to do at least two things at once. “Unwind time” (my priority) – relax or get away.
* Keep clutter out of your life: Physical clutter (things which occupy our vision in a negative way). Mental clutter (things which occupy our mind in a negative way). Emotional clutter (things which occupy our spirit in a negative way).
* Redeem the time at hand. “Redeem” means to get back, free up, change for the better.
3. PRIORITIZE WHAT IS IMPORTANT. You have just enough time to do God’s will. Organize your life around key areas: Personal relationship with God and spiritual growth; spouse and family; work; health and recreation for physical, mental and emotional fitness; social interactions.
Rick Warren is the author of the highly acclaimed, best-selling book, The Purpose-Drive Life, which has been translated into many languages and sold throughout the world. It affirms the importance of having a carefully considered, clearly expressed purpose to guide everyday life.