I promised to share some time
management tips I learnt from finally publishing my first book 13 long years
after I began my first of many unfinished manuscripts. Like I said here, it is extremely
difficult for any person to fulfil the purpose of God for one’s life without
learning how to manage time effectively. We also cannot enjoy the peak of
intimacy with God in daily personal fellowship with Him if we are always
falling behind in meeting up with our schedules.
You may have read a lot about how to
maximise your 24 hours but you are sure to find useful tips here, especially if
you are working on a time-bound project.
This is the second and final post on this topic (for now). I suggest that you read the first part here so that the examples can make more sense.
This is the second and final post on this topic (for now). I suggest that you read the first part here so that the examples can make more sense.
4.
Discipline Yourself and
Actually Do Something:
You can set all the goals in the world but they will remain idle dreams until
you actually take action. I think what discourages us from starting is the fear
of stopping half way with yet another ‘failed’ project. I really hope that you
complete Matthew to Revelations but ask yourself; wouldn’t you be better off
faltering off at the end of the gospels than never starting at all?
This point is the main factor that
gives meaning to all the other points. If you don’t take action, your goals will remain unfulfilled and this may breed
guilt, depression and the feeling of being a failure. It could also affect your
relationship with your accountability partner who will now begin to irritate
you. With time, she may just let you do what you want but of what use is that
to both of you? I once heard from Bishop David Abioye that “sitting before a
table is the posture of seriousness.” Since ASUU was on strike, I simply opened
shop at the dining table at home. I resumed every day until the work was
finished. I didn’t hang on a cross but I
kinda got the idea of what Jesus meant when He said on the cross “it is
finished.” It is a different kind of high.
(Prov. 6:4-9 [KJV]) Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids. 5 Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the
hand of the fowler. 6 Go
to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: 7 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, 8 Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. 9 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt
thou arise out of thy sleep?
5.
Flee Distractions: They often told us in
youth church not to stand and bind sexual immorality but to flee from it like
one running from dear life. That should be the same attitude with distractions.
You may have to turn off the radio on your smart phone because there are many
people willing to ping you, send you an e-mail, chat on Facebook or thousands
of other things that will take up the time you would have used otherwise. It
was easier to concentrate on my work when I wasn’t thinking about how to answer
a particular e-mail. You know what? When you turn on the phone later, the Milky
Way wouldn’t have frozen over, the sun and the moon wouldn’t have exchanged
shifts and the internet (or television) will still be where you left it.
I know that using the internet is a
major issue for me. I love to surf the web and read one blog post after
another, so I deactivate the Wi-Fi on my laptop when I have work to do. I don’t
know how to teach you to be disciplined. I just know it is something you got to
have. We need to be able to say “no” to immediate pleasures that can hinder our
life’s purpose.
(2Tim 2:22 [KJV]) Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith,
charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
6.
Celebrate Small Victories: It has nothing to do
with pride but I tried to praise myself with every tiny progress I made. I just
wished that I knew this system much earlier. It was almost unbelievable when I
completed the first chapter, and then the second, the third, fourth, all the
way to the day I held the finished copy in my hands. Writing the draft to
publishing the book took about eight months but I learnt to thank God for every
stage that we completed. In the Bible reference below, you will observe how God
‘saw that it was good’ at the end of every day. He didn’t wait till EVERYTHING
was over before observing a job well done.
(Gen 1:10
[KJV]) And God called the dry land
Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called He Seas: and God saw that it was good.
Note: God did not wait till it was
all over before He called His works good. At the end of every day (stage), He
said it was good!
7.
Pray: Sincerely, this is not an
attempt to sound pious. It is simply an attempt to share what has worked and
continues to work. I have learnt that time committed to God will often turn out
to be time well spent especially if we do our part. I believe in this thing
called grace so many times, especially when I know my will power is low, I pray
for grace to be productive, to do my job like I should and to do with
excellently well. After all, our sufficiency is of God and praying this way
helps us to reaffirm our dependence on Him.
Like the unknown author of The Kneeling Christian said “Unless we pray aright, we cannot live
aright or serve aright… prayer is
omnipotent; it can do anything that God can do! When we pray, God works!
There is a special joy that comes
with saying “It is finished.” Perhaps, only Jesus Christ can know the full weight
of that sentence but here on earth, He has empowered us to be able to say it
over and over again even as we complete our projects to His glory. Amen.
What project are you working on or that
you have you worked on? What time-management tips helped you to accomplish the
projects on time?
