TIME MANAGEMENT

BY PS. KOFI BOATENG AGYENIM

So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. [KJV]
Psalm 90:12

He who loses gold or silver can find more to replace it, but he who loses time cannot find more Anonymous Egyptian saying

In God, time and eternity are one and the same thing.

Henry Suso (c. 1295-1365) German mystic

The greatest friend of Truth is Time, the greatest enemy is prejudice, and her constant companion is Humility. Charles Caleb Colton (1780-1832) English poet

Never say that you have no time. On the whole it is those who are busiest who can make time for yet more, and those who have more leisure-time who refuse to so something when one asks. What we lack is not time, but heart. Henri Bonlard Egyptian Jesuit

Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save.

Three Keys to Liberation from the Clock

KEY ONE
Recognize the activities which have been monopolizing your time.

Sit down and make a list of those items which have been consuming too much of your time in recent times.

1. Organization,

the institution, studies, noncredit activities 2. The inability to say no: either to the organization, the choir, the quartet of friends or causes that clamor for our attention - Dont become the dumping ground for a bunch of responsibilities that other people dont want. - We need to establish a form set of priorities to help us say Yes to the best and No to the rest.

3. Television: how much time do you sit before the tube. - be selective 4. Personal mismanagement - The disorganized flitting from one project to another, - Sending too much time on secondary priorities - The most common sign of time mismanagement is the cry Ive just got too many things to do

La Bruyer, once wrote, Those who make the worst use of their time are the first to complain of its brevity
The wise man will not take on so many things in the first place,

He will proceed to accomplish each time or call of duty in an orderly, not frenzied, fashion

5. Worry and Daydreaming 6. How often have we snapped ourselves from a lengthy daydream or worry session, only to find that time has not waited for you.

Real success should be a value in life which signifies that we are living and growing to maximum potential as persons. It should call each of us to a fulfilling interplay of our mental, physical, spiritual, and social dimensions to Be all we can be

Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save. Worry & Day Dreaming => Two types of day dreaming Daydreaming can spawn fresh, imaginative new ideas to want to achieve what you have been daydreaming about.

a) Constructive

b) Wasteful Daydreaming takes on a negative, escapist tone. They moan I wish whole constructive day. Constructive daydreamers would say why not? With this in mind, youll know the time you daydream whether youre killing time or investing time daydreaming.

Worry is never constructive.

It is usually the result of a mismanagement of our priorities, our time or our finances.

A better way to deal with worry

Rectify your mismanagement - Stop fretting about the circumstances

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7. Meetings is this one really necessary? Is it for routine information that a memo or phone call could handle? Check the time spent during meetings 8. Telephone important in our modern time The telephone can be a tyrant It can interrupt and invade even our privacy Eating, in the wash room, counseling session, love making, studies, family or individual devotions etc. Learn to switch off the phone when need be

KEY TWO

Resolve right now to slow down a little

Amazing fact: whenever people are in a hurry they lose time in the process Hurry it is said is not just of the devil, it is the devil himself.

Associated Press report on a 81/2 year study on Haste

Report confirms that aggressive, hard-driving individual is much more likely to have a heart attack than a relaxed person . Reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Behavior patterns marked by enhanced aggressiveness, ambitiousness, competitive drive and chronic sense of time urgency had heart attacks more than twice as frequently as those individuals characterized as more relaxed.

Dont get caught up in the redeem the time Syndrome

KEY THREE

Follow these steps to make the best of your time.

Remember, God has provided all the time you need to accomplish the task he wants you to accomplish.
If you dont have enough time, you have either misused it, or you have taken on responsibilities God never intended you to have.

Take Note of These

1. Think

out your priorities in life What is most important to you in life now? 2. Make a list of all the things that need to be done The big things, the little things 3. Eliminate all non priority items

4. Put the remaining items in the order of importance Tasks which just cant wait any longer Task which need to be done very soon Task which need to be done as soon as possible 5. Delegate tasks if possible To delegate is simply to admit that there may be some either qualified, or with more time for the task

6. Schedule the items on a monthly and/or weekly calendar Scheduling is a good investment of time Fifteen or twenty minutes of advance planning can be worth hours later on. - What job you must do tomorrow, this weekend or next week - When you should begin

Remember: schedules are there to serve you, you are not to serve the schedule.

7. Stop procrastination The best way to get something done is to begin. Starting is always the hardest part of any task, so BEGIN NOW before you can think of any distractions. 8. Follow through with your schedule Once you have made out your schedule, stick to it! Review your schedule frequently.

9. Learn to say NO 10. Watch the Time Robbers Time robbers are people, things or situations that at times, seem to conspire against us and prevent us from accomplishing what we really want to.

They include:

GROUP A: Imposed on us

Interruptions Waiting for answers Unclear job definition Unnecessary meetings Poor communication

Equipment failure Conflicting priorities Peer demands Mistakes of others Meetings

GROUP B: Self inflicted

Failure to delegate Poor attitude Absentmindedness Failure to listen Indecision Socializing

Lack of self-discipline Leaving task unfinished Outside activities Unclear personal goals Attempting too much Poor planning Perfectionism

STAY BLESSED