if i’m going to use my time as a gift i’ve got to have the right plan, the right schedule. psalm 90.12 (nlt) talks about this, teach us to make the most of our time so we may grow in wisdom.
and this is where we spend most of our energy on time management. this is what hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of books are written about. it’s pretty telling some of these titles. they indicate some of our attitudes, struggles and pain for us about time.
like the art of stress free productivity – wouldn’t it be great if it were stress free? or 21 ways to get more done in less time – if that were seven ways i would get more done in less time. the time trap – a classic on time management and how we feel about it. 7 day get organized program for overworked, overbooked, and overwhelmed people. here’s a good one, the complete idiot’s guide to managing your time, 2nd edition. why do they need a second edition? wouldn’t one be enough for “complete idiots”?
there’s a book called how to live on 24 hours a day. i guess that’s a good idea! however, somebody read that title and thought “i can top that!” so a title came out how to live on 26 hours a day. squeezing 2 more hours out of every day, as if that’s possible. somebody read that and thought, i can top that! there’s a book out the 48-hour day. pretty soon there will be the 98-hour day. see where this is headed?
but all those titles miss the point. the point is GOD has given us enough time to do what HE wants done in this world? 24 hours is quite enough to do what HE has given me to do in this world.
now we are attracted to these kind of titles because this is a place of pain for most of us. we struggle to keep up with what’s going on, to maintain peace in the midst of all the activity, to take pleasure in the work that we’re doing. we’re frustrated because we’re not getting enough done, we feel guilty because we’re not doing the right thing – we wish we could spend more time with our family or more time with GOD. and we feel anxious about the fact that our goals are never going to be reached. we struggle with these feelings constantly.
there is a reason why scheduling books, program, ipads are top sellers all the time. we are desperate people in search of solution in our lives. we look at ourselves and think, my life is a mess but at least i have an ipad. like that’s really going to solve everything. it doesn’t. we need a plan. and that plan certainly includes scheduling and managing your time.
just a thought from the front porch…
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