Do You Need More Time?

IF YOU checked off the second or third choice for most of the accompanying questions, you probably do need more time. And you are not alone. Almost everywhere people are under pressure to do what must be done​—and that may have nothing to do with what is truly important to them. Instead, it may have everything to do with meeting the demands of the moment​—fixing the car, satisfying the boss, handling unexpected interruptions. As you respond to one crisis after another, you may feel you have no control over how your time is spent. You may even feel that you are rushing through life without experiencing it.

Of course, you tell yourself that this is all temporary. Eventually, life will slow down, and you will have time to focus on the things that really matter to you​—the things that enrich your life as well as that of your family and others. But when? Do you see an opening in your schedule today? This week? Next month?

Realistically, the world around you is unlikely to slow down. But you can take action to create the time you need. How might you do that?

[Box on page 3]

How often do you have time for things that are truly important to you?

◯ Every day

◯ On weekends

◯ Hardly ever

During a typical day, do you

◯ Do what you planned to do?

◯ Follow an imposed routine that gets in the way of your plans?

◯ Respond impulsively to whatever demands arise?

During a typical day, do you feel

◯ In control?

◯ Pressured to meet unreasonable demands?

◯ Helplessly pushed from one activity to the next?

At the end of the day, have you

◯ Accomplished the important things?

◯ Finished the necessary work, perhaps poorly?

◯ Had no time for what really matters?

How do you usually feel at the end of the day?

◯ Satisfied and fulfilled

◯ Empty, tired, and tense

◯ Frustrated

Taking Control of Your Time

“For everything there is an appointed time.”​—Ecclesiastes 3:1.

IN ORDER to make time for what matters, you need to know what those things are. This will be easier if you have a clear grasp of your values, your goals, and the specific activities that support these.

First, then, clarify your values. You might try writing down every value that comes to your mind, such as family, friendship, hard work, education, accomplishment, good looks, money, happiness, marriage, kindness, physical health, spiritual health. Then, ask yourself, ‘Which of these values are most important to me?’

After that, consider all the goals that you would like to achieve in life. What is the difference between values and goals? For the purpose of this discussion, we can say that values are ongoing, whereas goals can, at some point, be achieved and marked off as completed.

What goals might you set for yourself? Do you want to spend more time with your family? Find employment that is more suitable? Improve your skills in a favorite hobby? Find a new one? Develop a certain quality? Take a vacation? Read a book? Write a book?

Next, decide which of these goals are most important to you. Make sure that they are compatible with your values. If, for instance, you set a goal of becoming extremely rich, you are likely setting yourself up for conflict.

Now, for the goals you selected, consider a number of activities that would contribute to reaching each goal. For example, if one of your goals is to lose a certain amount of weight, exercise is an activity that can help you do that.

How Can This Analysis Help You?

If your goals harmonize with your values and you carry out the activities that contribute to achieving your goals, your life will take a unified direction. You will find yourself spending more time on what matters to you. Of course, that does not mean you should be callous to the needs and desires of others. (Philippians 2:4) It does mean that you will be better able to identify and turn down opportunities that have nothing to do with what is truly worthwhile.

Admittedly, there will be challenges. Some tasks may be relatively unimportant but are necessary nevertheless. These may threaten to fill your day, leaving little or no time for what is most important to you. Emergencies may arise. And changes in your life situation may throw your schedule out of balance. But by taking practical steps to spend more time on the things that matter, you will have more control over how you spend your time and live your life.

[Box/​Picture on page 6]

DO ELECTRONIC ORGANIZERS SAVE TIME?

They save time for some but waste time for others. A personal digital assistant, or PDA, for example, may include a calendar, a list of phone numbers and addresses, to-do lists, a word processor, a memo pad, a camera, and access to e-mail and the Internet. You can use such a tool to save time if you keep it up-to-date and carry it with you. However, you can easily waste time if you do a lot of irrelevant browsing, tinkering, or customizing or if you buy unnecessary accessories or allow use of the device to get in the way of important relationships or responsibilities.

Tip: Research before you buy. If an electronic device malfunctions frequently, much time will be required to fix it. Also, any electronic device is only as good as its user. So if you have one, use it to save time, not waste it.

[Picture on page 4, 5]

Can you make time for things that matter?

Cut and Save

20 Ways to Create More Time

“Go on walking in wisdom . . . , buying out the opportune time for yourselves.”​—Colossians 4:5.

HAVING identified the activities with which you want to fill your days and hours, the challenge is to move from optimistic theory to actual practice. The following suggestions may help you to do that.

1 KEEP A DAILY TO-DO LIST. Number items according to the order in which you will handle them. Indicate items that are worth spending more time on. Check off each item when it is completed. Carry over unfinished tasks to tomorrow’s list.

2 SYNCHRONIZE YOUR CALENDARS. Don’t risk missing an appointment because it is only in your other calendar. If you have a calendar in your computer and another in a handheld device, see if you can synchronize the two.

3 WRITE AN “ACTION PLAN” consisting of all the steps involved in a project, and put these in their proper sequence.

4 GENERALLY, SCHEDULE YOUR MOST IMPORTANT TASKS FIRST. It will be easier to find time for the less important ones.

5 SET GOALS OVER WHICH YOU HAVE A LARGE DEGREE OF CONTROL. You have more control over increasing your skill at a certain job than over becoming president of your company.

6 ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU WILL NOT HAVE TIME FOR EVERYTHING. Favor activities that yield the most important results. What about other tasks that are urgent or that simply have to be done? If you cannot eliminate or delegate them, see if you can spend less time on them. Some unimportant tasks can wait for months if necessary, or they may not need to be done at all. Allocate as much time as possible to those activities that are related to what you feel is truly worthwhile in light of your goals.

7 KEEP A TIME LOG. To find out where your time is going, keep a time log for one or two weeks. Is much time lost on unimportant activities? Do most of your interruptions come from the same one or two individuals? Are you most likely to be interrupted during a certain part of the day or week? Eliminate time-wasting activities that have crept in.

8 SCHEDULE LESS. If you plan to shop for food, fix the car, entertain friends, see a movie, and catch up on reading​—all in one day—​you will feel rushed and will likely enjoy nothing.

9 MINIMIZE INTERRUPTIONS. Block off a portion of time each day during which you are not to be interrupted unless it is absolutely necessary. If possible, turn off your phone during this time. Also, turn off electronic pop-up alerts if they tend to interrupt your work.

10 SCHEDULE THE MOST CHALLENGING WORK FOR THE TIME OF DAY WHEN YOU ARE MOST ENERGETIC AND ALERT.

11 DO THE MOST UNPLEASANT TASK AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Once it is out of the way, you will feel more energized to work through the less-challenging activities.

12 ALLOW TIME FOR THE UNEXPECTED. If you feel that you can arrive at a place within about 15 minutes, promise to be there within 25. If you believe an appointment will take an hour, allow an hour and 20 minutes. Leave a portion of your day unscheduled.

13 USE TRANSITION TIME. Listen to the news or a recording while you shave. Read while waiting for a train or riding on it. Of course, you can use that time to relax. But don’t waste it and then later fret over lost time.

14 APPLY THE 80/20 RULE OF THUMB.a Are approximately 2 out of 10 items on your to-do list the most important? Might a certain job be as good as finished after you give attention to just the most important aspects of it?

15 WHEN YOU FEEL OVERWHELMED WITH WORK, write each task on an index card. Then divide the cards into two groups: “Action Today” and “Action Tomorrow.” When tomorrow comes, do the same.

16 PERIODICALLY, TAKE TIME OFF TO ‘RECHARGE YOUR BATTERIES.’ Returning to work with a refreshed mind and body might prove more productive than hours of overtime.

17 THINK ON PAPER. Write down a problem, describe why it is disturbing you, and list as many solutions as you can think of.

18 DON’T BE A PERFECTIONIST. Know when it is time to stop and move on to the next important activity.

19 WORK LIKE A PROFESSIONAL. Don’t wait for the right mood. Just start working.

20 BE FLEXIBLE. These are suggestions, not hard-and-fast rules. Experiment, find out what works, and customize ideas to your circumstances and needs.

[Footnote]

Making Time for What Matters

“The time left is reduced.”​—1 Corinthians 7:29.

“JUMPING around and splashing in the water doesn’t mean you’re swimming,” writes Michael LeBoeuf in his book Working Smart.

In other words, there can be a difference between just being active and really accomplishing something worthwhile. Look back at the past week. For what did you make time? For what were you too busy? Do you see a need to make more time for the things you really care about?