The number one problem in time management is a lack of priorities. We don’t manage our time well because we haven’t established our priorities. So how do we know what our priorities should be?
First, you need to determine what God wants you to do with your life. What is His purpose for you? You begin by developing your personal mission statement. You will find a study on my Resources page to walk you through it. If you haven’t done this yet, I strongly encourage you to do so before going any further.
Once you know your personal mission statement and God’s purpose for you, then your priorities fall in line with that purpose. The things you say yes to should be things that fit into God’s purpose for you and what God has shaped you to do.
I encourage you to go through the 5-day study on Time Management on my Resources page under Personal Development. You can also download some other helpful tools from that page on time management.
One of the tasks you will be asked to do is to keep a log of how you spend your time for a week. This will show you where your time goes, where you have lost time, or wasted it. It will also show you what you have made as priority. Should you be spending that much time in an area?
What are your priorities in life? Are those things first in your schedule, or are they getting pushed aside by urgent things that are not priority?
If you don’t set priorities, you won’t manage your time wisely.
What time management tips do you have to share with us? I’d love to hear from you.
One thing I have learned to do over the years is to time some of the repetitive tasks that I have to do, such as clean the bathrooms, dust, vacuum a room, prepare a particular recipe, or wash & put away a load of clothes. Then when I find a small time slot in the middle of my day, I use that time to do one of the tasks that will fit the slot. For example, I know it takes me 30 minutes to clean my bathrooms, so if I find that I have 30 minutes before my dentist appointment that I might otherwise waste, I use that time to clean the bathrooms. Usually by the end of the week, I have done all my housework without having to set aside a whole day to do it. People always get a good laugh when I tell them I know exactly how long these tasks take, but it works for me! Then on the day when they are cleaning their house, I am smiling because I have a whole “extra” day to use however the Lord wants.
Two helpful time-saving slogans have also helped me: “Don’t put it down, put it up” and “File it, don’t pile it.” If something is in your hand, when you finish with it, put it where it goes. This habit saves huge amounts of time (no piles of clutter to deal with) and frustration (later when you are looking for that thing), plus if someone drops in, you are not embarrassed by a cluttered house.
Great tips, Carolyn! And I need to remember those two time-saving slogans. Thanks for passing them along.