Ephesians 5: 16

Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Time is a universal gift from God to mankind, and a valuable resource. This resource is available to everyone regardless of their profession, vocation, and calling. We all have 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 12 months a year. But have you wondered why some people are able to achieve more than others in any given day, or year? The answer is in time management – which is the process of planning, organizing and dividing your time between various activities.  Time management is very important in life because time is a limited resource, whereas our tasks and activities are seemingly limitless! So it becomes necessary to carefully plan and schedule your activities so that meaningful tasks are accomplished on a daily basis.

Steven Covey, a leadership icon, sorted human activities into ‘urgent/non-urgent’ and ‘important/not-important’ tasks. All our activities fall into one of these categories at any given time. A task could be urgent and important at the same time – examples are approaching deadlines, exams, emergencies, etc. Activities in this quadrant should be managed at all times to avoid stress or burn out. A task could also be urgent and not-important – examples are some text messages, emails, or calls. Don’t be fooled by the tyranny of their urgency! Tasks of this nature should be limited (or curtailed) as much as possible. Furthermore, a task could be not-urgent and also not-important – examples are long hours on social media sites (or internet surfing), long hours of TV watching or impulse shopping. These activities are time wasters and should be avoided! Lastly, a task could be not-urgent and important – activities such as building relationships, self-development, personal growth fall under this category. Tasks in this quadrant should be given attention at all times!

More often than not, we place our focus on activities that do not produce any meaningful result. The most important tasks in life fall under the category of ‘not-urgent but important tasks. Our energy and focus should be on such activities that produce long lasting fulfilment. Take time to build that relationship, make effort to further your studies, build relevant skills that would pay off in life, seek to help someone in need, spend time in God’s word, take time to fellowship with God, etc. Reflect on how you have been investing your time – which quadrant takes up most of your time?