Christian Time Management Book Excerpt
Time has been equated to money in many aspects and the effective management of money can also teach you the following principles of time management:
Keep a Diary
Just as you keep a Spending Diary to determine how you spend each and every dollar you earn, you also have to keep a Time Diary to determine how you spend each and every hour you live.
Therefore, buy a small notebook and write down how you spend every hour of your day for one month and you will have a fairly good idea where your time goes.
Assess Expenditure
Just as you go through your Spending Diary to assess how you are spending your precious money, you also have to go through you Time Diary to assess how you are spending your precious minutes.
Therefore spend some time each week evaluating your expenditure of time to see if it is in line with your Life’s Purpose.
Make a Budget
Just as you make a money budget so that you do not spend/waste your money on inconsequential items, you also have to make a time budget so that you do not spend/waste your time on inconsequential activities.
Therefore, create a Weekly Time Budget by dividing the 168 hours in each week into the activities you need to accomplish each week.
Before you begin making your Weekly Time Budget, Acknowledge God and He shall direct your paths (Proverbs 3:5) so that you can be in alignment with His purposes for your life.
A sample Weekly Time Budget might include: 50 hours sleeping, 40 hours working at your job, 30 hours relaxing with family and friends, 10 hours commuting to work, 5 hours watching TV and 5 hours engaged in a hobby.
After making your Weekly Time Budget, analyze it and tweak it to ensure it is in line with your life’s purpose and major life goals.
For example, if you find that you are spending 2 hours on your most important life goal of writing books and 20 hours watching TV, you may have to cut into your TV time to finish your books.
As you make your Weekly Time Budget, ensure that it keeps the 3rd commandment by avoiding work-related activities on Sundays for God says, “6 days you shall work but the 7th day is the Sabbath of your Lord. In it you shall not work … because in 6 days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea and all that is in them and rested on the 7th day.” (Exodus 20:8-11)
After making your Weekly Time Budget, place it where you can see it so that you can remind yourself of your goals. For the best results, place it in three places where you are often tempted to waste the precious seconds of your life. For example, you can write it in your diary and read it when you wake up, stick it to the wall of your workspace and post it online.
This blog post is an excerpt of the book Christian Time Management.
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