As my family & church family continues to grow, one of my greatest challenges is that of time management. Below is a great teaching that I recently read from Dr. Dave Martin. I continually evaluate my life each & every week to determine if I'm wisely using the most precious God-given resource that I have in my life: my time. I want to encourage you to take a few moments to do the same! Keep growing!
Time Management - Teaching by Dr. Dave Martin (www.davemartin.org)
Everything you are today and will be in the future is determined by the way you use your time. One of the most significant things you can do to improve your productivity is knowing how to make the most of your time. Successful people have developed an ability to get a lot more done in the same period of time as unsuccessful people. Here are four specific ways you can make the most your reaching your goals for each day:
Rise Early. What is one thing that top executives and political leaders have in common? They get up early. John D. Rockefeller said, “if I get up early I am already ahead of my competition.” Successful people start work while others are still rubbing their eyes. If you were to get up a half hour earlier than you do right now, then in a years time you would add about 182 more hours to your life this year. That is more than a week.
Start the day in God’s presence. Think about the time it takes to get ready, and then allow some extra time to spend with God. You will find you accomplish more throughout the day by giving Him time first. He will make more of the rest of your time that day. Also when you put Him first at the start of the day, you’ll see the world in a brighter light.
Keep a weekly agenda. By having a written plan you will have a better sense of direction and purpose for the day. This is where you will write your appointments, meetings, projects, and you will learn to appreciate time and use it more wisely. When you have clear goals and objectives, and a well organized calendar it will enable you to focus continually on the most valuable uses of your time.
Decide your daily priorities. What is the most important thing you need to get done today. Schedule your daily task in order of importance and priority. Start the day working on number one. When it is complete then go on to the next one. You will enjoy the sense of fulfillment as you mark each one off your list and because you prioritized you will finish the most important things first. Your ability to set clear and accurate priorities on your time determines that quality of your life. The very worst use of your time is to do very well at what doesn’t need to be done at all. It is important to look at the consequences of whether you do a task or not. Continually ask yourself, What is the most valuable use of my time, right now? And whatever it is, work on that. Your ability to discipline yourself to work on those few tasks that can make the biggest impact in your life is the key to successful time management.
So many people complain about their lack of time. Yet those who know how to make the most of their hours aren’t complaining. They’re too busy achieving and accomplishing their goals. People who practice the laws of time management say that their careers accelerate, their income grows, and they have much more time to spend with their families.
Time Management - Teaching by Dr. Dave Martin (www.davemartin.org)
Everything you are today and will be in the future is determined by the way you use your time. One of the most significant things you can do to improve your productivity is knowing how to make the most of your time. Successful people have developed an ability to get a lot more done in the same period of time as unsuccessful people. Here are four specific ways you can make the most your reaching your goals for each day:
Rise Early. What is one thing that top executives and political leaders have in common? They get up early. John D. Rockefeller said, “if I get up early I am already ahead of my competition.” Successful people start work while others are still rubbing their eyes. If you were to get up a half hour earlier than you do right now, then in a years time you would add about 182 more hours to your life this year. That is more than a week.
Start the day in God’s presence. Think about the time it takes to get ready, and then allow some extra time to spend with God. You will find you accomplish more throughout the day by giving Him time first. He will make more of the rest of your time that day. Also when you put Him first at the start of the day, you’ll see the world in a brighter light.
Keep a weekly agenda. By having a written plan you will have a better sense of direction and purpose for the day. This is where you will write your appointments, meetings, projects, and you will learn to appreciate time and use it more wisely. When you have clear goals and objectives, and a well organized calendar it will enable you to focus continually on the most valuable uses of your time.
Decide your daily priorities. What is the most important thing you need to get done today. Schedule your daily task in order of importance and priority. Start the day working on number one. When it is complete then go on to the next one. You will enjoy the sense of fulfillment as you mark each one off your list and because you prioritized you will finish the most important things first. Your ability to set clear and accurate priorities on your time determines that quality of your life. The very worst use of your time is to do very well at what doesn’t need to be done at all. It is important to look at the consequences of whether you do a task or not. Continually ask yourself, What is the most valuable use of my time, right now? And whatever it is, work on that. Your ability to discipline yourself to work on those few tasks that can make the biggest impact in your life is the key to successful time management.
So many people complain about their lack of time. Yet those who know how to make the most of their hours aren’t complaining. They’re too busy achieving and accomplishing their goals. People who practice the laws of time management say that their careers accelerate, their income grows, and they have much more time to spend with their families.