Time Management Principles [PDF]

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Time Management Principles


Dr. Brandon Park | March 8, 2015

Many Many people think that time management is about cramming more and more into y our day. Time management from a Biblical perspective is not about doing ____________ things; hings; iit’s t’s about doing hat time management is about life the _______________ things. What it really comes down to iss tthat ife management. Psalm 90:12, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” f we live our life isdom.” IIf knowing that our days are numbered, we’re going to make better decisions. Whenever you think that you have more of something than y ou need, you tend to waste it!

JAR AND ROCKS ILLUSTRATION: The key to getting more accomplished in life is not simply adding; dding; the key to getting more done is prioritizing correctly. __________________. . It’s what y ou put i nto your schedule chedule first first that Priority determines ___________________ ___________________ ____________ determines y our capacity in life.

Ephesians 5:15-‐16, “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the d ays are evil.” WORD STUDY: “Making the most of your time” (“redeeming the time”) – i n the G reek, i t’s a word that means, “to buy out of the market.” The word time is kairos, which means an appointed time i n the purpose of God. It’s a window of opportunity when God can act. When we manage our time according to God’s standards, we put ourselves in a position where God can act through us.

THE LAWS OF UNMANAGED TIME: LAW #1 – Unmanaged time flows toward my _____________________. The majority of people spend the majority of time doing things they are second best at. • LAW #2 – Unmanaged time comes under the influence of ___________ _____________. This is especially true of those who are “people pleasers” by nature. If I do not take control of my schedule, there are people in your life that will. "Planning your day, rather than allowing i t to unfold at the whim of others, i s the single most i mportant piece i n the time management puzzle." – Alec Mackenzie • LAW #3 – Unmanaged time surrenders to the demands of all _____________________. Don’t be governed by the tyranny of the urgent. Not everything that cries the loudest is the most urgent thing. Elton Trueblood, “A public man, though he is necessarily available at many times, must learn to hide. If he is always available, he is not worth enough when he is available.” The world is full of disorganized people who have lost control of their time. Chuck Swindoll said, "The only problem with success is that the formula for achieving it is the same as the formula for a nervous breakdown." •

Time must be _____________________. When a person’s money is limited, they set up a budget. When a person realizes that their time is limited, the same principle holds true. The saying “time flies” is true, but it’s up to you to be the pilot. You must make a conscious effort to allocate your time.

Proverbs 24:27, “Finish your outdoor work and get your fields ready; after that build your house.” In other words, do the most important things first. In the day i n which Proverbs was written, getting the fields ready first was critical because i t meant food and i ncome for the family. What good i s a nice house when you don’t have any food to eat or income? CHALLENGE: Make a list of all things you need to do tomorrow. Now ask yourself this question: “If I could only do one item on this list, which one would it be?” Mark that item as #1. Go back through the remaining items on the list and ask the question again. Mark that item as #2. Get the idea? Once the items all have a number, start with #1, and do it until it is completed. Cross it off the list, pause to feel the endorphin rush of accomplishment, and celebrate. Then go on to #2.

HOW TO ADD SOME S.P.A.C.E. TO YOUR SCHEDULE: S -‐ _________________. If the devil can’t make y ou BAD, he’ll make you BUSY! Take s ome time every day to think not only about what you’re doing but why you’re doing it. Whenever I study the life of Christ one thing always amazes me: he was never ever hurried. He never had to play “catch up,” and he was never taken by surprise. Read Mark 6:30-‐32. STRANGE PARADOX TIME MANAGEMENT: W hen I ___________ down, I go _______________!

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We all need to develop margin into our schedule. Margin i s having breathing room. It’s keeping a little reserve that you’re not using up. It’s not going from one activity to the other with no space in between. Margin is the space between your ____________ and your ________________. When there i s no buffer between our load and our limit, exhaustion is sure to take place.

P _______________________. Jesus said, “For which of you, d esiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether h e has enough to complete it?” (Luke 14:28). Even when things go wrong, planning ahead can help us pick up the pieces and keep moving forward. If you don’t proactively write God’s priorities into your schedule, life will always live you instead of you living life.

A -‐ __________________________. Attitude is focusing on the good in the situation. Attitude is not about facts i t’s about focus. Psalm 90:12, “ Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” The great saints of old learned the wisdom of having only two days on their calendars: today and that day (the day they would be with the Lord). If we want a heart of wisdom, we will learn to live each day in light of that day.

C-‐ ___________________________. Multi-‐tasking causes our attention to become fragmented. Experts tell us that when we do two things simultaneously, we take about 30% of our attention off the primary task. What about interruptions? Efficiency experts say that it takes four minutes to recover from an interruption and “get back i n your zone.”

E -‐ ___________________________. Engage in energy renewing activities, which energize you rather than drain y ou. L ive your life by this principle: Divert ______________, withdraw _________________, and abandon __________________. Ecclesiastes 10:15, “Only someone too ignorant to find his way home would wear himself out with work.” If the bow is never unstrung it looses its power. Exodus 20:9-‐10, “You have six days in which to do your work, b ut the seventh day is to be a day of rest dedicated to Me.” The difference between SPACE and STRESS is the difference between your LOAD and your LIMIT.

10 TIME MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES: If you implement some time management tips that save you 10 minutes a day, at the end of the year, you’ll have two and a half extra days! If you were to save an hour a day, you will have an additional 15.2 days! Here are 10 Time Management Tips: 1. Plan your day the _________________ before. Brian Tracy says, “You save ten minutes in execution for every minute you i nvest i n planning.” Take Sunday evenings to plan your week. Don’t start the day until you’ve planned the day. 2. Develop a “_______ _____ __________” of things to do. Make a list of the top six most productive activities that you c an do with your day. 80% of your effectiveness is in 20% of your to-‐do items. 3. Eat the ____________. Do the most difficult thing to do first; then the other activities will not weigh on y ou that much. 4. Get up one hour ______________ every day. Some of the most effective people throughout history have been early risers. Daylight Savings Time proves you can do this. 5. ___________________ as much as possible – tithe, bill pay, etc… I automate once and I watch regularly! 6. Arrive ______ __________________early. Arriving early prepares you and lowers your s tress. The fear of being late is one of the most stressful things in our lives. Do something about it. 7. Always start _______ ____________. Learn to be the type of person who i s always where they’re supposed to be, when they’re supposed to be there. 8. Set an __________ time. For every appointment and to-‐do list item, have an end time. Things tend to expand to fill the time allotted. If you have two hours to complete a project, it will take you two hours. 9. Work all the time you ______________. During an eight-‐hour day, the average person actually works less than two hours! 10. Learn to pray this prayer – “God, what is the best use of my time ____________ __________?” The Bible says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you can c all upon God and He will give i t to us.” God can literally direct the minutes of your time if you allow Him to. Our goal ought to be to do the best possible things at the best possible time.

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Dr. Brandon Park | March 8, 2015

Many Many people think that time management is about cramming more and more into y our day. Time management from a Biblical perspective is not about doing ____________ hings; iit’s t’s about doing more things; hat time management is about life the _______________ things. What it really comes down to iss tthat ife right management. Psalm 90:12, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” f we live our life isdom.” IIf knowing that our days are numbered, we’re going to make better decisions. Whenever you think that you have more of something than y ou need, you tend to waste it!

JAR AND ROCKS ILLUSTRATION: The key to getting more accomplished in life is not simply adding; dding; the key to getting more done is prioritizing correctly. __________________. chedule first first that Priority determines ___________________ ___________________ ____________ . It’s what y ou put i nto your schedule capacity determines y our capacity in life.

Ephesians 5:15-‐16, “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the d ays are evil.” WORD STUDY: “Making the most of your time” (“redeeming the time”) – i n the G reek, i t’s a word that means, “to buy out of the market.” The word time is kairos, which means an appointed time i n the purpose of God. It’s a window of opportunity when God can act. When we manage our time according to God’s standards, we put ourselves in a position where God can act through us.

THE LAWS OF UNMANAGED TIME: LAW #1 – Unmanaged time flows toward my _____________________. The majority of weaknesses people spend the majority of time doing things they are second best at. • LAW #2 – Unmanaged time comes under the influence of dominant ___________ _____________. people This is especially true of those who are “people pleasers” by nature. If I do not take control of my schedule, there are people in your life that will. "Planning your day, rather than allowing i t to unfold at the whim of others, i s the single most i mportant piece i n the time management puzzle." – Alec Mackenzie • LAW #3 – Unmanaged time surrenders to the demands of all _____________________. emergencies Don’t be governed by the tyranny of the urgent. Not everything that cries the loudest is the most urgent thing. Elton Trueblood, “A public man, though he is necessarily available at many times, must learn to hide. If he is always available, he is not worth enough when he is available.” The world is full of disorganized people who have lost control of their time. Chuck Swindoll said, "The only problem with success is that the formula for achieving it is the same as the formula for a nervous breakdown." •

Time must be _____________________. When a person’s money is limited, they set up a budget. budgeted When a person realizes that their time is limited, the same principle holds true. The saying “time flies” is true, but it’s up to you to be the pilot. You must make a conscious effort to allocate your time.

Proverbs 24:27, “Finish your outdoor work and get your fields ready; after that build your house.” In other words, do the most important things first. In the day i n which Proverbs was written, getting the fields ready first was critical because i t meant food and i ncome for the family. What good i s a nice house when you don’t have any food to eat or income? CHALLENGE: Make a list of all things you need to do tomorrow. Now ask yourself this question: “If I could only do one item on this list, which one would it be?” Mark that item as #1. Go back through the remaining items on the list and ask the question again. Mark that item as #2. Get the idea? Once the items all have a number, start with #1, and do it until it is completed. Cross it off the list, pause to feel the endorphin rush of accomplishment, and celebrate. Then go on to #2.

HOW TO ADD SOME S.P.A.C.E. TO YOUR SCHEDULE: S -‐ _Stop ________________. If the devil can’t make y ou BAD, he’ll make you BUSY! Take s ome time every day to think not only about what you’re doing but why you’re doing it. Whenever I study the life of Christ one thing always amazes me: he was never ever hurried. He never had to play “catch up,” and he was never taken by surprise. Read Mark 6:30-‐32. STRANGE PARADOX TIME MANAGEMENT: W hen I ___________ slow down, I go _______________! faster

2

We all need to develop margin into our schedule. Margin i s having breathing room. It’s keeping a little reserve that you’re not using up. It’s not going from one activity to the other with no space in between. Margin is the space between your ____________ and your ________________. When limit load there i s no buffer between our load and our limit, exhaustion is sure to take place.

P _Prepare ______________________. Jesus said, “For which of you, d esiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether h e has enough to complete it?” (Luke 14:28). Even when things go wrong, planning ahead can help us pick up the pieces and keep moving forward. If you don’t proactively write God’s priorities into your schedule, life will always live you instead of you living life.

A -‐ Atti __________________________. Attitude is focusing on the good in the situation. Attitude is not tude about facts i t’s about focus. Psalm 90:12, “ Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” The great saints of old learned the wisdom of having only two days on their calendars: today and that day (the day they would be with the Lord). If we want a heart of wisdom, we will learn to live each day in light of that day.

C-‐ _Concentrati __________________________. Multi-‐tasking causes our attention to become fragmented. on Experts tell us that when we do two things simultaneously, we take about 30% of our attention off the primary task. What about interruptions? Efficiency experts say that it takes four minutes to recover from an interruption and “get back i n your zone.”

E -‐ _Engage __________________________. Engage in energy renewing activities, which energize you rather than drain y ou. L ive your life by this principle: Divert ______________, withdraw daily _________________, and abandon __________________. Ecclesiastes 10:15, “Only someone too weekly annually ignorant to find his way home would wear himself out with work.” If the bow is never unstrung it looses its power. Exodus 20:9-‐10, “You have six days in which to do your work, b ut the seventh day is to be a day of rest dedicated to Me.” The difference between SPACE and STRESS is the difference between your LOAD and your LIMIT.

10 TIME MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES: If you implement some time management tips that save you 10 minutes a day, at the end of the year, you’ll have two and a half extra days! If you were to save an hour a day, you will have an additional 15.2 days! Here are 10 Time Management Tips: 1. Plan your day the _________________ before. Brian Tracy says, “You save ten minutes in night execution for every minute you i nvest i n planning.” Take Sunday evenings to plan your week. Don’t start the day until you’ve planned the day. 2. Develop a “_______ of things to do. Make a list of the top six most Top _____ 6 __________” List productive activities that you c an do with your day. 80% of your effectiveness is in 20% of your to-‐do items. 3. Eat the ____________. Do the most difficult thing to do first; then the other activities will not frog weigh on y ou that much. 4. Get up one hour ______________ every day. Some of the most effective people throughout earlier history have been early risers. Daylight Savings Time proves you can do this. 5. ___________________ as much as possible – tithe, bill pay, etc… I automate once and I watch Automate regularly! 6. Arrive ______ Arriving early prepares you and lowers your s tress. ten __________________early. minutes The fear of being late is one of the most stressful things in our lives. Do something about it. 7. Always start _______ Learn to be the type of person who i s always where time on ____________. they’re supposed to be, when they’re supposed to be there. 8. Set an __________ end time. For every appointment and to-‐do list item, have an end time. Things tend to expand to fill the time allotted. If you have two hours to complete a project, it will take you two hours. 9. Work all the time you ______________. During an eight-‐hour day, the average person actually work works less than two hours! 10. Learn to pray this prayer – “God, what is the best use of my time ____________ __________?” right now The Bible says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you can c all upon God and He will give i t to us.” God can literally direct the minutes of your time if you allow Him to. Our goal ought to be to do the best possible things at the best possible time.