BE A GOOD STEWARD OF YOUR TIME


When it comes to getting a grip on time, it seems that the harder we work, the "behinder" we get. This sense of urgency creates time pressure and time stress.

If we would define time as "the habitual expenditure of the stewardship of life," we might take better care of how we spend our minutes, hours, and days. All of it is God's time.

Ten ways to take control of your time:

  1. Realization. Life is a brief appearance. Realize how little time you really have and how quickly it will run through your fingers like sand.

  2. Preparation. Take time to plan. Think for a few minutes in the morning, before rushing aimlessly out the door. Ten minutes spent in planning will save at least an hour during the day. That's good stewardship.
  4. Standardization. They say you can tell how disorganized someone is by how many different sizes and types of paper they use to write things down. Try to standardize your time-tracking and life-planning tools.

  5. Delegation. In a commitment to mutual effectiveness and growth, share the load with others. As you are ready to do your task, ask, "Is there anyone who can accomplish this as well as, or better than, I can?" Usually we think we don't have time to delegate. In reality, you don't have time to do otherwise. If you think you can do it quicker or better, you may be right, but not in the long run. Besides, how will others learn unless you give them an opportunity.

  6. Communication. Time-management is a team effort. Remember that you are interdependent with others in what you do with your time. Ask for feedback from co-workers or family.

  7. Evaluation. Periodically, it is important to look back as well as ahead. While tedious, track how you have spent a day. Once you've done that a few times, make a serious investigation of how your activities matched your plans and accomplished your goals.

  8. Elimination. You can't add important obligations without removing the less important items. Eliminating time commitments is not always easy or popular. It is essential. Goals, priorities, values, purpose, identity, and theology will guide you in what to eliminate.

  9. Adaptation. Become flexible. You need to be sensitive to God's leading in executing your well-laid plans. There are no such things as interruptions in a God-planned life.

  10. Integration. Take time each day to review your "foundation for living." Make sure that you are investing your time in eternity as you accomplish your daily tasks.

  11. Eternization. This means "To make something eternal." Ask yourself, "What can I do in this minute or hour that will matter in eternity?" Take the advice of Jonathan Edwards who said, "I will never do anything which I should be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life." Edwards understood the importance of eternal significance.