When I talk about 3 ways to make time, I am not talking about sexual encounters or getting to a destination quicker. Iām talking about dealing with the pressure of feeling like you need more time.
We often talk about needing to make time for things like our marriage, our kids, our friends, our hobbies, our health, our (fill in the blank.)
There are several reasons why we often feel we donāt have enough time to do what we need to doā¦
- We get distracted to easily and too often. Like Dug, the somewhat ADHD dog in the Pixar movie āUp,ā we see squirrels that easy distract us from what we need to be doing.
- We get bored and look for distractions. We go looking for squirrels because what weāre doing isnāt something we find enjoyable or cut out for.
- We have trouble setting priorities. Someone once said, āWhen everythingās a priority, then nothingās a priority.ā If you donāt prioritize what needs to be done, you spend too much time on the less important things and not enough time on the important things.
- We donāt set and protect boundaries. We need to set boundaries on things like: how much TV we watch, how much weāre on Facebook, when we will go to bed and get up, etc. Youāll be surprised how much time you can find by setting clearer boundaries.
- We put a bigger premium on relaxing. I knowā¦someone out there is saying, āLifeās too short. Shouldnāt we be more relaxed about life? We donāt want to become too obsessive about this.ā I would agree to a point. But if youāre struggling to get important things done and you find your stress level rising because of it, then ātaking it easyā isnāt making it easy on you.
How do you change this? Iām not going to give you steps to better time management. There are plenty of tools and resources to help you with that.
What I want to do is give you 3 ways to make time. I know people say you canāt āmakeā time, but I disagree. Thereās at least 3 ways to make time. You canā¦
- Make time precious. We donāt like to think about it, but we only have a finite number of years, months, days, hours, and minutes. Once itās gone, thatās it. On top of that, we donāt know how many years, months, days, hours and minutes we have. Our time could last till weāre old and gray, or it could be over tomorrow. Time here is like water in the dessert. Itās limited. So we need to make time precious.
- Make time count. Because our time is limited, we canāt afford to waste it on lesser things. There will never be enough time to do everything, but there will always be enough time to do the important things. You can make time count by making sure the important things are at the top of your to do list.
- Make time last. Some of you are saying, āWait a minute. You just said our time is limited. There are only so many hours in a day. How can we make time last?ā You make time last by doing things that will have lasting impact and live beyond you. Iām not talking about earning a Nobel Prize or curing cancer. Iām talking about using your words, your actions, your love, and your example to making a difference in the lives of others. If you want to make a seed last, you invest it in the soil and it produces more seeds that live on. If you want to make time last, invest it in the soil of people and it will produce seeds that live on past you. (For more on this, check out my post on Good Funeral Stories.)
Time is our most valuable commodity. So donāt let chasing squirrels keep you from making time!
But letās take this to another levelā¦
In the Scripture, God has much to say about making time. It makes sense that a God whoās eternal would know a little something about time. Amazingly, God also speaks to making time precious, making time count and making time last. Check out the Scripture below.
- Make time precious. (Psalm 90:12) ā āSo teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.ā
- Make time count. (Eph. 5:16) ā āmaking the best use of the time, because the days are evil.ā
- Make the time last. (Prov. 13:22) ā āA good life gets passed on to the grandchildrenā¦ā
Finally, when youāre making time, donāt forget to make time for God. (Ps. 5:3)
Leave a comment and tell us about the ways youāve found to make time. (We all need the help.)
Copyright Ā© 2014 Bret Legg
