Making the very most of the time [buying up each opportunity], because the days are evil.
Ephesians 5:16
I doubt that you want to waste your time (I know I don’t want to waste mine) and yet we all do to some degree. So let’s take a look at some of the ways it happens:
1. When you complain a lot about your busy schedule, that is a good sign that you need to make some changes in it.
2. We cannot do everything and do anything well.
3. What do you let hijack your time?
4. Are you just busy, or are you productive?
5. Are you able to stay focused on what you really want to do?
6. Do you spend more time talking about the things you need to get done than you actually spend doing them?
7. Do you buy time by getting less sleep and then lose time because you are tired?
8. How often do you make mistakes because you were in a hurry?
9. How often do you have to repair something because you didn’t want to spend the money to do it right to begin with?
10. Do you deal with little problems in order to prevent them from becoming big problems?
In order to make the most of the time God has given us, let’s look at some of these things a little more closely.
Complaining is a negative practice. It is almost always done by those who either have circumstances they don’t want and cannot do anything about, or those who don’t like their circumstances and simply won’t do anything about them, but either way, complaining is useless and changes nothing. Prayer combined with taking action according to God’s guidance is the only answer to any problem we have. God’s Word teaches us not to worry and to cast our care, but it never says we are to cast our responsibility.
Complaining is useless and changes nothing.
Quite often the people who complain the loudest are the ones who do absolutely nothing to help change the circumstance they are complaining about.
Don’t waste your time by allowing unnecessary interruptions, or by not disciplining yourself to stay focused and then complaining about how little time you have. When we complain we remain in the same situation, but if we are willing to take responsibility and make positive changes, God will give us direction as to what to do.
Taking positive action to change something we don’t like is much easier on us than passively complaining about it. God created us to be active, and we simply don’t function well unless we have the mind-set to find solutions to our problems instead of murmuring and being unhappy. God will definitely show us what to do if we are willing to do it!
While we are waiting for our breakthrough, God’s Word instructs us to give thanks in all things! Replace all grumbling with gratitude and you will find solutions to your problems quickly.
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
I Thessalonians 5:18 (ESV)
A priority is something that is regarded as more important than another thing. When we say, “I don’t have time,” what we are really saying is, “It’s not my priority.” Hopefully, most of us believe that what we do is important or we would not spend time doing it, but certain things must always be more important than others. We have to have the ability to know which things in our lives are the most important to us and then be sure that we make time for them. If we don’t, we will spend our lives doing what is urgent rather than what is important. We usually do what we truly want to do, but rarely do we admit it. If we are not doing what we know in our heart we should be doing, we often excuse our behavior by saying that we didn’t have time. I have only heard one person say, “I don’t exercise because I don’t want to,” but I have heard hundreds say that they don’t have time. Our time belongs to us, and we can prioritize it wisely if we truly want to.
Our time belongs to us, and we can prioritize it wisely if we truly want to.
The apostle Paul prayed for the believers that they would learn to sense what was vital and approve what was excellent and of real value (see Philippians 1:9–10). Even though what we are doing might be good, it may not be the best thing.
People frequently ask me how I manage to keep my priorities straight since I have a lot going on in my life, and I always reply that I am constantly straightening them out. I find that I have to examine my life regularly to make sure I am not letting it get out of balance. My relationship with God is the most important to me, so that must come first in my time and attention. My family is next, so I always make time for them. I just told someone this morning that no matter what I am doing, I always take calls from my children if at all possible because I never want them to think that the ministry is more important to me than they are. My health is also important, and I put time into maintaining it. Obviously, the ministry God has made me a steward over is very important and that requires a great deal of my time.
I must admit that I was often out of balance in several areas of my life in the earlier years of my ministry. I was very busy and had not learned some of the things I know now, and I sometimes let things that were less important take precedence over things that should have been more important. Thankfully, God covers some of our mistakes when we lack knowledge, but when we do have knowledge, He expects us to make right choices.
You may have heard the statement “Don’t major in minors,” or “Don’t strain at a gnat and swallow a camel.” They both refer to not giving importance to matters that in the long run are not really very important.
I have heard my friend John Maxwell teach that we should put 80 percent of our time into the top 20 percent of our strengths. Most people waste their time trying to strengthen weaknesses that may only improve very little no matter how much effort they put into them, while ignoring the development of their strengths and truly excelling at them.
If everything is a priority to us, then nothing is a priority, and we live confused and frustrated lives. Some people try to do everything, so they do nothing really well. Are you able to focus on what is truly important and always make sure you give those things the attention they deserve? If not, that is a good place to begin becoming an “on-purpose” person who is able to seize the day! At our ministry we often say, “Be sure the benefit we reap from a project equals the time put into it.”
Some people try to do everything, so they do nothing really well.
We all have things that waste our time, but we may or may not be aware of what they are. If someone had a history of hijacking airplanes, he or she would definitely be on a “no fly” list, and our time hijackers that we are aware of should be on a “no admittance” list. In other words, they may knock on the door of our time but we won’t let them in. If you are not aware of what hijacks your time, simply take one week and watch your life and you will get an education.
The modern communication technology like cell phones, e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, Facetime, and instant messaging (to name a few) can be time hijackers. If we have them, we can’t blame them for beeping at us, because they are simply doing what they were made to do. It is our responsibility to ignore them unless we truly want to find out what message they are giving us. Although these modern conveniences have a benefit, we don’t have to let them control us.
At the very least, we need to learn to see who is trying to contact us and, if we are busy with a higher priority, ask ourselves if it can possibly wait. Every time we are interrupted, it takes time and effort to get back to what we were doing, and sometimes we never get back to it. These modern conveniences may be some of the biggest culprits of the growing lack of ability of people to focus on what they are doing.
People can also become hijackers of your time. Some people will keep talking even after you tell them you are not able to talk right now! They think their emergency trumps anything you may have planned. If you know which individuals are likely to talk either too long or about something that is a waste of time, it is best not to answer, or perhaps text and tell them you are unable to talk at the time.
It is often the unexpected that steals our time. We run into a friend unexpectedly and he or she would be offended if we didn’t take time to talk, so we lose thirty minutes we planned to give to something else. We have a repair we didn’t expect and that takes time; the Internet is out and we were depending on it for a project; the dog gets sick and has to go to the vet. Things like this cannot be avoided—they are merely part of life—but if there is anything we can control, it is our responsibility to do so. Just in order to not be frustrated, I usually allow time for interruptions in my scheduling because I almost always have some, and then if I don’t get interrupted I feel like I received a gift of time I wasn’t expecting.
Often we are our own worst enemy when it comes to wasting time. I might be focusing on preparing a message for one of my seminars and I look out the window for a moment and notice the mailman delivering my mail. I immediately go to get it and spend the next hour and a half opening it and then disputing a bill I had already paid. Did I have to get the mail at that moment? “No” is the honest answer. I went to get it because I was curious, and it would have been better had I waited until I was finished with my message.
To be a person who lives life “on purpose,” we will have to be relentless in dealing with things that get us off the track we want to be on. The more we do it, the easier it will become, but let me be clear that living the life you truly want to live will be something you will have to be firm about. Not everyone may understand your determination, but you will be the one who will accomplish great things instead of living with regrets over what you wish you had done with your life.
Do you buy time by getting less sleep and then waste time being tired and feeling bad the next day? This is a temptation for a lot of people. I’ve been told that half of Americans get less sleep than is recommended, and that is seven to eight hours each night. There are a few people who don’t need much sleep, but very few. Most of us need good-quality sleep in order to be energetic and pleasant rather than cranky. We need rest to be able to be creative and able to focus. If my mind is tired from lack of sleep, it is more difficult for me to keep it focused on what I am trying to accomplish.
I have come to a point in my life where I realize one of my greatest needs is energy! When I am tired or don’t feel well, it affects every area of my life adversely. I no longer buy time by giving up sleep or rushing continually, because I have learned the hard way that I always lose time in the end. It may be visits to the doctor, or making unnecessary mistakes because I am tired, but it will always cost me eventually.
Do you try to buy time by rushing through projects? If we don’t do a thing right the first time, we will probably get a chance to do it over. When things are not done right, they steal time later. It may be our time or someone else’s, but it will happen. We have recently dealt with a chimney and roof problem that required lots of time with a repairman and was expensive. The entire reason for it was that the job wasn’t done properly to begin with.
Doing a thing right or in an excellent manner always takes more time than merely doing it quickly just to get it done and check it off of our list. Some personality types just want every project off their list, and they often make mistakes in judgment because they don’t wait for wisdom. I make quick decisions and sometimes I cost myself time because I didn’t think a thing all the way through.
I used to waste time and gas running around looking for a sale for everything I needed to buy. I was adamant that if I couldn’t get it on sale, then I wasn’t going to get it, but my attitude was wrong. It developed from years of having barely enough money to get by on, but God showed me I was often spending more money trying to save money than I would have spent had I purchased what I needed and gone home.
I have experienced driving across town to get a pair of shoes that were advertised on sale and finding they were out of them and were not getting any more in stock. They had the same shoes in my area, but they cost five dollars more, and I wanted to save money so I spent four dollars in gas money and lost two hours. It is interesting to me to look back and see how my out-of-balance attitude cost me! Some people take pride in seeing how little they can spend on an item. They feel like they are beating the system, but are they really?
Let’s imagine that we are building a house and we are offered two insulation packages for the walls. One is good, but not as good as the other one. The better one will cost two thousand dollars more, but we don’t want to spend the money so we decide to go with the less expensive kind. After moving into the house, we feel that our heating and cooling bills are quite high for the size of the home. After having an expensive expert come in, he informs us that the insulation in our home is not very good, and because of that our bills will always be higher. We only have two options at this point: We can try to add insulation to the home, but that will be very costly since the home is already built, or we can pay the high cost of utility bills.
When making a purchase, it may be worth it to drive across town if we are going to save a significant amount of money, but at least call to see if the item is in stock before making the trip. It may not be worth it to spend more on insulation, but we should consider all the options and not make a decision based solely on cost unless we have no other option.
I am prudent, but I really try not to be foolish. My time is valuable; as they often say, “Time is money.” If you have not realized yet that your time is valuable, I suggest you think it over, because time may be one of the most valuable things you have.
The Bible states that the little foxes spoil the vine (see Song of Solomon 2:15). That means that little things unattended to may turn into things that cause big problems. Let’s say a couple is buying a house and they have found one they really like, but on a walk-through the man noticed in the corner of a closet what looked like it might be mold. He knew his wife would be disappointed if he found any reason for them not to accept the house. He was a person who had a tendency to notice what was wrong with things and this irritated his wife, so he thought, I don’t want to cause trouble and it probably isn’t mold anyway.
They bought the cute house, and after living in it a while everyone in the family started getting sick. After a great deal of time and money spent on doctor visits, it was discovered that there was indeed mold in the house. It was hidden in the walls where it could not be seen. Although the problem was eventually dealt with, it cost a lot of money to get rid of the mold because it had been spreading, and the home had to be torn apart, which created quite a mess and lots of frustration.
If the man had tended to the small thing he saw in the corner of the closet, just think what it would have saved him.
I actually know a family this happened to, and I can assure you that the man wished with all his heart that he had taken the action and the time to have the “little thing” checked out before purchasing the home.
We often compromise in order to get what we want when we want it, or in order not to have to spend time on something we don’t want to spend it on, but compromise always costs us in the long run.
Compromise always costs us in the long run.
Sometimes we don’t do a thing just because we don’t want to and for no other reason. It is of course our privilege to choose, but then we should not complain if what we didn’t do turns into something more for us to do eventually.
These few things I have mentioned can be time wasters, and there are thousands of others. It is wise to find the ways we waste time and ruthlessly eliminate them from our lives. Do today what you will be happy with tomorrow, and then tomorrow you won’t regret what you didn’t do today!
Do today what you will be happy with tomorrow, and then tomorrow you won’t regret what you didn’t do today!
• Setting priorities helps you deal with the urgent but focus on the important.
• Prayer—not complaining—is the best step to take when facing a problem.
• Time is one of the most valuable things you have.
• In order to seize the day, it is important to stay on task in your life. Don’t let unnecessary interruptions steal your time.
• Take time to pray and ask God, “Is this the best way I could be spending time right now?”