“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.” – Ecclesiastes 3: 1
The new year has begun, resolutions (or life decisions) have been made, goals have been set and the race to achieve our plans is well underway. Perhaps, you’re not one to make new goals around the new year – you may prefer to set goals at other times within the year. Regardless, it’s a no-brainer that proper time management is needed to bring goals to life.
So we’ve come up with 7 tips to help you keep up with time and manage it to the best of your abilities.
1. Take breaks
Taking breaks is often a neglected topic when it comes to discussing time management. Sometimes, we think that managing our time means filling up our schedule with a billion things to do! Taking breaks helps us to focus even more. Breaks allow the brain to rest, relax the nerves, and allow you to engage in pleasant activities such as, reading, watching a show, baking, catching up with friends, having a snack, going for a walk, spending time with Jesus and even having a short but sweet nap. So, be intentional about adding break times into your schedule!
2. Set boundaries - 'aka learn to say No'
It is said that time is our most valuable asset. Time is a precious gift given to us by our Heavenly Father. Therefore, when people, activities and even your thoughts, seek to take your attention away from what you ought to be doing, learn to simply say “No”. You needn’t say yes to everything and to be frank, you cannot help everyone. Set healthy boundaries and respect them.
Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.
– Colossians 4:5
3. Set time limits
Essentially, don’t just work hard, work smart! It’s counterproductive to spend 2 hours on something that could take 1 hour. Think efficiency over just being busy. When you schedule an activity for an hour, stick to that time limit. When time is up, move on to the next – no overlapping!
4. Use planners/journals and/or apps
It’s hard to talk about time management without talking about journals and planners. Visualising your time helps you manage it even better. Bullet journals are a great way to make time management fun and creative. However, if physical journals or planners are not your thing then you can use mobile applications. A hybrid system – using both physical planners and mobile apps can be effective too. In short, figure out what works for you and go for it!
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. – Ephesians 5: 15 – 16
5. Less mindless scrolling and more intentionality
We’ve all had days when we’ve scrolled through our feed for what feels like 20 minutes only to realise it had been up to an hour! Social media feeds us so much entertainment and drama that grab our attention so we mindlessly scroll and scroll and scroll and scroll as we lose track of time. To manage our time we must be intentional about our social media habits. Perhaps you can start by setting a timer to certain apps that you spend too much time on, setting focus time or even tracking your screen time and app usage. Make use of these smartphone features to help you stay focused on your tasks!
6. Be gracious
Be gracious towards yourself. Things will not always go as planned and that’s okay. You do not have to beat yourself up! Remember, there is no condemnation for those who belong to Jesus (Romans 8:1).
7. Commit your time into the hands of God
Finally, we end on this tip: commit your time into the hands of God. Afterall, He is the maker of time – time cannot exist without Him! So commit your time to Him and yield to the voice of the Holy Spirit throughout the day.
“Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is”. – Ephesians 5: 17
Words by Precious Umeh
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