Is Time On Your Side?

"That which is not done daily will never dominate a life." (anonymous)

Think with me for a minute about a couple of questions I've been asking myself lately:

• What do you want to dominate your life?
• What legacy do you want to have?

Now consider: Is your current approach to time management facilitating or hindering your answers?

North America is a very time-oriented society. Other cultural models tend to be more event-oriented (the time starts when the event starts) or person-oriented (it starts when everyone shows up).

Now, I am a list-maker and planner, so I'm the first to admit that there is something to be said for our cultural tendency to structure our days. But when time management becomes a master instead of a servant, something is wrong. That's when I think we can learn from other cultures. We can see time not as a commodity, but as a tool for facilitating our purpose in life. Thus, time management isn't about a system and a structure, but about priorities and purpose.

Some specific things I'm doing to try to bring time in line with what I hope will dominate my life:

• Schedule less. Follow the 25% rule: Make your list and cut 25% of the things off it. Questions to ask: "Is it worth it? Does it matter?" There will always be things that have to be scheduled. But I have found that I can work much more openness into my schedule this way. It's a very pragmatic approach. Interruptions will happen. Why not plan for them from the beginning?Figure out what's important enough to block off time for, and focus on that.
  
• Stretch your schedule. For those items you do schedule, or the time you plan to travel from one appointment or place to another, follow the 25% rule as well: Add 25% to whatever time you think something will take. This builds in time for interruptions, relationships, divine appointments - or just a few minutes to sit and pray or read. I committed to this about a month ago and guess what - I've been on time to everything for a change, AND been very relaxed on the way rather than anxious and blowing in at the last minute. I find myself entering a place in a totally different frame of mind, just because I'm 5 minutes early instead of 2 minutes late.
• Prioritize for focus. When you make your list ask what 3 things would be most significant in your day. You'll do other things besides those 3, but try to ensure that at the very least, you get those 3 things done. Which ONE is most consistent with your purpose? Do something toward that first - even before checking email ;).Additionally, give yourself permission to prioritize. We can't do everything equally well! Figure out what needs to be done top-notch and what can be less than perfect. Spent your time on what you deem most important and give yourself permission to "get by" in minor areas. What needs the bulk of your attention will vary from person to person and even day to day. Just give yourself permission to be less than perfect. Overall, reduce the number of tasks you do each day, but make each one count for more.
  
• Quit multi-tasking. I know. I haven't figured out how to do life without multi-tasking. At the very least, learn to focus on the task you have prioritized in that moment. Have one "top of mind" task to return to when you get interrupted. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Keep biting away at that top of mind task despite the interruptions, and when you prioritize an interruption, just be there for it - fully, in that moment.
  
• Say No. Examine new commitments carefully before saying yes. Pray over everything. When you don't have a choice (you have a flat on the way to work) say no to worry - keep the main thing the main thing. Look for God's divine purpose in the moment and say no to being anxious about it.
  
• Simplify. Realize your to-do list will never be "done" - and let it go. Focus on the progress and the journey. Sometimes, it helps to see the forest rather than the trees. It's a process, and we are all on the road together. Stay grounded on your purpose, prioritize, motivation. Use the strengths of others who might find your challenging tasks, easy and fun! (I hate to make posters, for example, but my student workers enjoy it! So, I delegate, get rid of stress, and they have a blast!). Just tell yourself things like: "I'm being productive in a different way"; "I'm expanding my repertoire of uses of time"; "I'm becoming more flexible"; "I'm learning how to manage relationships instead of time"; "I'm learning how not to offend people". From http://www.missionarycare.com/brochures/ss_eventoriented.htm

Bullet point titles from http://www.dumblittleman.com/2009/01/7-simple-time-management-rules-for.html

Think back to yourself at a younger age. What would you tell yourself to fill in these blanks:

• Life is too short to __________________________.
• Life is too short not to _______________________.

In the long run, this is boiling down in my life to doing less of what matters least and more of what matters most. I still get a lot done and am still very task-oriented by nature. But I'm doing it in a much more relaxed mode these days, with a view to the why more than the what. And I think that honors God - our relational God, who wants us to prioritize abiding above doing.