Time management experts claim that lack of organization is a key time waster. Lack of planning is another key time waster. Disorganization and poor planning go hand in hand. Disorganized people usually fly by the seat of their pants, while people who plan tend to be more organized.
Wasting time isn't just an educational or employment problem. It is a spiritual problem. We are to make the most of the time God has given us. We are called to make the most of every opportunity. If, however, we squander the precious few moments given to us in the vapor of a life, we are poor stewards indeed.
The good steward ship of time means that we must make plans. Someone once said, "If we fail to plan, we plan to fail." The Bible encourages planning. We are not to plan presumptuously as if our planning obligated God to ensure their success. We should seek the Lord's will as we plan, and ask faithful believers for their advice.
Developing a routine is important to establishing a rhythm to life. Organization and planning help to sync us to that rhythm. Disorganization and poor planning through us out of sync. I'm not suggesting that there is no room for spontaneity or flexibility, but approaching life with a careless attitude is dangerous.
God has given us a stewardship. We are stewards of all he has given us, including time. To make the most of it, we need to carefully plan and organize our time. If we do that, we increase our odds of making the most of the time we have been given.
With these truths in mind, what suggestions would you make to help someone become a better steward of time?
Showing posts with label Organization. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Organization. Show all posts
Monday, November 12, 2012
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
I Hate It When This Happens
Have you ever had one of those days where your mind doesn't want to seem to land? Sometimes it feels as if my mind is being pulled in a thousand different directions. Today was one of those days. My mind was filled with numerous good ideas. Each idea wanted me to focus on it, to the exclusion of others, but none of them got the upper hand.
If I was smarter, I would have written them down (although not necessarily in any order). By writing them down, I could have figured out which ones could be pushed aside until later, which ones needed immediate attention, and which ones could have been knocked out today.
Unfortunately, that idea didn't come until just a few minutes ago. When my brain gets overloaded with options, my mind grinds to a halt. Without a clearly set direction, I have a hard time focusing. I call it "log jamming." All of my thoughts jam together like a bunch of logs trying to pass through a narrow section of a river. They pile up on me, and I can't seem to get things done.
Some of the best ideas, get pushed to the bottom (from which they never return). My brain stays a fragment mess. After I get so bogged down, it can take hours for me to defrag my mind.
Maybe you can relate. How do you handle "log jamming" of your brain? What are some of the sure-fire methods that have helped you sort through your ideas and get more accomplished? I would really like to hear from you.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
A 1000 Different Directions
Have you ever found yourself running in a thousand different directions? You have family and work and church and hobbies and friends and so on. It may be that you have several projects to work on or several books you want to read. How do you find time to do it all?
Common wisdom today would suggest multitasking. Take three or four books and begin to read them. Or take three or four projects and begin hammering out the work. However, I fear that multitasking doesn't really work. Except for the rare individual that can actually focus on multiple projects at once most people's work suffers from divided attention. Take for instance that woman who cut you off this morning because she was curling her hair, putting on her make-up, and talking on her cell phone while steering the car with her knees. Or the guy who held up traffic because he was typing his report on his laptop while he read his paper and drank his coffee cruising down the highway at 45 mph. Or the student who can't read his homework without listening to music and watching t.v., but who can't remember what the chapter was about.
The key is organization. We all have to multitask a bit. None of us can be solely focused on just one thing, unless we only have one responsibility. A person with a family, a job, a hobby, and a pet is going to be pulled in more than one direction. The key is coming up with a plan for organization and implementation. When you have multiple responsibilities, there are a few options you can take. First, you can neglect some of your responsibilities and focus all of your attention in one area (for example, a workaholic who is never at home). Second, you could cut back on some of your responsibilities (for example, a person who gives their pet away because they don't have time to care for them). Finally, you can combine the best of working hard with working smart. You can come up with a plan that allows you to have your cake and eat it too.
Getting life organized might mean we cut back on some of our responsibilities (like passing on a promotion to have more time with your family), but it also means having a plan of attack that allows us to whittle away that the "to-do" list of our daily existence. We need to look at the day coming up and map out a strategy. What is most urgent? If we have something big to do, can it be broken down into smaller, more easily managed chunks? Do we have an action plan, that will help us complete the task before our deadline? If your goal is something smaller, like reading a book, can you find thirty minutes a day to dedicate to the task (please not while your driving)?
I'm not an expert on organization. However, on the days that I have a plan more seems to get accomplished. Whether you have a stack a books that you want to read or a building to construct, you need a plan of action. You have to realistically determine the amount of time it will take to accomplish the task and the amount of time you have to give to the task. Then break it down into smaller bite size chunks. Instead of wondering how you are going to read a 500 page book focus on getting through a section or chapter. Then move on to the next section or chapter, and before long you will find the book is finished.
It comes down to this: What are your priorities? What do you wish to accomplish? What needs to be done? and What are the steps to accomplish it? When you are home playing with the kids (or grandkids) focus on that. When you are at work or church use the dedicated time to focus on the projects with which you are faced. Just focus on one thing at a time, and eventually most of the important stuff will get done.
Common wisdom today would suggest multitasking. Take three or four books and begin to read them. Or take three or four projects and begin hammering out the work. However, I fear that multitasking doesn't really work. Except for the rare individual that can actually focus on multiple projects at once most people's work suffers from divided attention. Take for instance that woman who cut you off this morning because she was curling her hair, putting on her make-up, and talking on her cell phone while steering the car with her knees. Or the guy who held up traffic because he was typing his report on his laptop while he read his paper and drank his coffee cruising down the highway at 45 mph. Or the student who can't read his homework without listening to music and watching t.v., but who can't remember what the chapter was about.
The key is organization. We all have to multitask a bit. None of us can be solely focused on just one thing, unless we only have one responsibility. A person with a family, a job, a hobby, and a pet is going to be pulled in more than one direction. The key is coming up with a plan for organization and implementation. When you have multiple responsibilities, there are a few options you can take. First, you can neglect some of your responsibilities and focus all of your attention in one area (for example, a workaholic who is never at home). Second, you could cut back on some of your responsibilities (for example, a person who gives their pet away because they don't have time to care for them). Finally, you can combine the best of working hard with working smart. You can come up with a plan that allows you to have your cake and eat it too.
Getting life organized might mean we cut back on some of our responsibilities (like passing on a promotion to have more time with your family), but it also means having a plan of attack that allows us to whittle away that the "to-do" list of our daily existence. We need to look at the day coming up and map out a strategy. What is most urgent? If we have something big to do, can it be broken down into smaller, more easily managed chunks? Do we have an action plan, that will help us complete the task before our deadline? If your goal is something smaller, like reading a book, can you find thirty minutes a day to dedicate to the task (please not while your driving)?
I'm not an expert on organization. However, on the days that I have a plan more seems to get accomplished. Whether you have a stack a books that you want to read or a building to construct, you need a plan of action. You have to realistically determine the amount of time it will take to accomplish the task and the amount of time you have to give to the task. Then break it down into smaller bite size chunks. Instead of wondering how you are going to read a 500 page book focus on getting through a section or chapter. Then move on to the next section or chapter, and before long you will find the book is finished.
It comes down to this: What are your priorities? What do you wish to accomplish? What needs to be done? and What are the steps to accomplish it? When you are home playing with the kids (or grandkids) focus on that. When you are at work or church use the dedicated time to focus on the projects with which you are faced. Just focus on one thing at a time, and eventually most of the important stuff will get done.
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