Time lost is never found again.
Benjamin Franklin
Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Psalm 90:12
You’ve got a thousand things to do with deadlines staring at you, memos awaiting your response, and projects needing your attention. If you are a pastor, your next sermon is still hours from being completed, your congregants need your ministry, your staff needs your direction, and your emails need an answer. And all of this stands on top of all the other stuff you didn’t finish last week…and the week before that.
The leader’s life can go around like this forever. Each day can seem insurmountable, eaten up by random activity that keeps you busy but gets you nowhere. The highest achievers, however, are those who master the practical techniques of time management and spin their schedules back in their favour. They’ve discovered that the key to managing their time is managing themselves, not micromanaging everyone and everything else.
A key strategic decision for a leader is to determine to use their time to maximum effect. It may be one of the most important resources the leader is a steward of. According to Scripture, a wise person has the ability to manage his or her time (Proverbs 9:11-12). Wise people know the value of time. They take advantage of every moment.
Managing time has to do with management of the activities you apportion to any given day’s time slots. Wisely selected activities enables us to work towards achieving what God wants to accomplish in us. Even with many inequities in the world, one thing we all have in common is the same amount of time each day. God has allotted twenty-four hours to each one of us. Since we live in a fast-paced society, we tend to think and act as though God has short changed us when it comes to time. People complain of time not being enough to accomplish the many things they have on their list.
Important Time Management Practices for Leaders
Leaders can avoid becoming slaves to their time by following these important practices:
- Leaders subjugate
Leaders are surrounded by people’s agendas in addition to their own plans. Everyone has priorities: the board of directors, the leaders’ family, employees, clients and competitors. Governing agencies require certain commitments as do leaders’ friends and churches. Each group is motivated differently. Employees’ livelihoods are intrinsically linked with the leader’s performance. Family members depend on them. Often, people seek the leader’s involvement to ensure a program or event is successful. Others know jobs will get done if the leader is involved.
There is no way to satisfy the desires of all the people who clamor for their time, so leaders must subjugate their schedule to God’s will and invest themselves in those activities and projects that are most critical. Unlike people, God never assigns more than someone can handle. God never overbooks people. He never drives his servants to the point of breakdown. He never burns people out. God never to demands from us beyond the strength or ability he provides.
If this is true, why do so many people struggle with too much to do? Why are Christians burning out from overwork and exhaustion? Is God responsible? No. When people become overwhelmed by their commitments and responsibilities, they are operating on their own priorities. Ministers of religion are particularly susceptible to assuming responsibility for things they should not. They do this because the Lord’s work never seems to come to an end. There is always another phone call to make, a Scripture passage to study, a hospitalized member to visit, a prayer to be offered. The key for over-worked leaders is to examine each of their current responsibilities to determine whether they have inadvertently assumed responsibility for things God did not assign to them. - Leaders eliminate
The higher you ascend in leadership, the more often you must say no. Greater numbers of opportunities are available to executive leaders so they must be more stringent in maintaining their priorities. Good leaders graciously yet regularly say no to many of the opportunities presented to them. In fact, they reject far more than they accept. By declining to become involved in projects, these leaders are not belittling the activity as if it were beneath them to participate. Rather, they are acknowledging they are human beings with limitations, and thus, they must make choices with their time. Leaders who are deluged by their schedules may simply not know how to say no. God does not give people more than they can handle, but people are inclined to assume responsibility for things they should not be doing. - Leaders cultivate
Wise leaders cultivate healthy routines to ensure their priorities are not overlooked. Routines ensure that leaders have scheduled their most important responsibilities into their calendars. Some people are wary of routines because they fear being stifled or stuck in a rut. Routines, however, can be as unique as the individuals who employ them.
Jesus’ life seemed to follow a different schedule every day, but he, too, was governed by routine. Scriptures indicate Jesus habitually prayed late at night and early in the morning (Mark 1:35; Luke 6:12; 21:37; 22:39). Leaders must establish routines that fit their particular responsibilities as well as their health needs, but is it is paramount for spiritual leaders to schedule regular and frequent times alone with God.
Spiritual leaders must follow Jesus’ example and set times to regularly meet with God. Because Jesus made it his custom to spend time regularly with his father, he was never caught off guard by the day’s events, no matter how diverse they were. Those who neglect to schedule the important responsibilities of their lives into their routines invariably overlook them. Routine saves time.
Routine protects leaders from becoming lopsided in their efforts. Leaders are naturally drawn to invest time in enjoyable endeavors while they tend to shun less fulfilling tasks. Only by carefully scheduling diverse activities into their schedules can leaders ensure they have covered the broad spectrum of their responsibilities.
There is one important qualifier in the matter of routine. Although routines can be extremely freeing, when abused, they can become unyielding taskmasters. Spiritual leaders understand God has the right to intervene in their schedule anytime he chooses.
God is supreme over the most meticulous leader’s regimen. Wise leaders remain vigilant to detect God’s activity around them. - Leaders delegate
The quantity of work leaders can accomplish is in direct proportion to their ability to delegate work to others. Leaders who refuse to delegate limit their productivity to their own physical stamina, creativity and intelligence. Leaders who assign tasks to others have unlimited production potential. The reason leaders fail to delegate are legion. Some people are perfectionists who assume no one can do the job as well as they can. Others are task oriented and would rather complete the assignment themselves than take time to equip others to do it. Still others are uncomfortable asking people to do things;
they find doing the job themselves less onerous than enlisting others. Then there are the leaders who are so disorganized that by the time they realize a deadline is approaching, it is too late to enlist someone to do the work. Whatever the reason for their reluctance, leaders must understand that mastering the art of delegation is preeminent among leadership skills. - Leaders concentrate
Leaders who cannot focus will be enslaved to interruptions and fruitless diversions. Leaders deal with significant issues such as the organization’s future and values as well as enlisting top personnel. These matters cannot be randomly plugged into fifteen-minute time slots. Leaders must allow themselves significant blocks of time to think through crucial issues. Leaders should insert one-to two-hour time slots in their schedules to focus intently and deeply on the critical issues facing their organization.
Leaders must also invest focused time with key employees and volunteers. While brief encounters with employees and volunteers can certainly be helpful in maintaining personal contact, they are most often symbolic and are not substitutes for quality one-on-one encounters. If leaders are to truly understand their people and convey their appreciation to them, they will occasionally need time slots of more than a few minutes.
PAUSE
Which of the above practices on managing time do you find hard to implement in your leadership role and why?
Leaders Make Time for What Is Important
The question for most leaders is not whether they are busy, but whether they are busy doing the right things. While leaders cannot ensure they give equal time to each priority of their life each day, there are at least four areas of life to which effective leaders fastidiously reserve adequate time.
- Leaders schedule unhurried time with God
Spiritual leaders understand if they neglect their relationship with God, they forfeit their spiritual authority. Time spent in God’s presence is never wasted. Everything spiritual leaders do flows out of their divine relationship. The vision they have for their organization originates from God. Their daily agenda comes from God. God determines the organizational values. God guides the choice of personnel. - Leaders schedule regular, quality time with their family
Wise leaders schedule regular, quality time with their families. They are intentional about spending time with their spouse. They record their children’s special events on their calendars well in advance and then guard those times from any encroachment. They protect the privacy of their home and avoid bringing work home with them if possible. Wise leaders strive to spend mealtimes with their family and refuse to submit to the tyranny of the telephone (or television or social media). - Leaders schedule time for their health
Some leaders live antithetical lives. They lead their organizations to become strong, healthy, and vibrant while at the same time they allow their own bodies to become overweight, out of shape and run down. When people live their lives to the edge of their capacity whether it is finances, time, sleep or emotional health, they run great risks. Taking time to care for one’s health is a pragmatic issue. - Leaders schedule time for people
Successful leaders tend to enjoy people and are typically surrounded by them. Those who prefer to work alone, or who find it difficult to relate to others, may not be suited for leadership roles. The primary role of spiritual leaders is not to merely accomplish tasks, but to take people from where they are to where God wants them to be. Fulfilling this mandate requires watching to see where God is working in people’s lives and then joining him. When God is working in people’s lives, it is their eader’s responsibility to invest time and energy into helping these people grow. Conscientious leaders strive to make every person they lead into a productive contributor. Leaders never give up on their people. They do, however, invest their time wisely between those who are growing and productive, and those who are not.
PAUSE
How would you rate your performance on each of the four areas discussed above on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is very poor and 5 is very good. What steps will you take to improve the low scores?
Leaders Avoid Time-wasters
Besides making the best use of time, spiritual leaders steer clear of time-wasters. A host of discussions, activities, and meetings do nothing more than consume leaders’ valuable time. Whenever leaders are seduced into investing time in the trivial, they become disengaged from the essential. The following are some of the timewasters that leaders need to be wary of:
- Technology
Technology can enhance leaders’ work exponentially and save hours of time. It can also be an subtle time stealer. So many time-saving programs and devices are becoming available. One problem with computers is that they are instruments for work as well as for entertainment and some people struggle to differentiate between the two. - Lack of personnel
Leaders who understaff their organizations are ultimately forced to divert their precious time into secondary issues. Leaders should not add staff haphazardly or without regard to budget constraints, but they should monitor their organization’s optimum effectiveness and ensure that enough trained personnel are available to accomplish its mission. - Idle conversation
Idle conversation is an insidious time-waster. It is also one of the most difficult to avoid because leaders do not want to give the impression they are too busy to visit with their colleagues. Good leaders find appropriate moments to excuse themselves from idle conversations and return to their work. Efficient leaders are brief and succinct in their communication. Leaders must find the balance between touching base with people and becoming engaged in prolonged, frivolous discussions. - Excessive hobbies
Hobbies give leaders a welcome and wholesome outlet to relieve stress and restore emotional health. They can also provide a fitness regimen. However, when a hobby consumes a leaders’ time to the detriment of important relationships and activities, it ceases to serve its rightful function. If leaders have no hobbies or recreational interests, this means they have probably been working too hard and may not know how to relax.
At the other end of the spectrum, some need to re-evaluate the excessive amounts of time and money they spend on recreation and recognize the adverse effect their hobbies exert on their families, work or other priorities. - Disorganization
Being disorganized can be the undoing of even the bestintentioned leader. Leaders cannot afford to be disorganized because they stand to waste not only their own time, but also the valuable time of their people and clients too. If leaders will do what it takes to get organized, they can enjoy productive and rewarding leadership tenures.
Once they arrange their time into manageable blocks and eliminate the superfluous, they find they have enough time in the day to accomplish all God is leading them to do.
Guidelines for Effective Time Management for Leaders
Johnny Hunt suggests the following guidelines to help leaders become effective in time management:
1) Be time-conscious
Effective leaders plan and set clear priorities for the day. Killing or losing time is a sure way to bury leadership potential.
2) Get an early start
Use the first part of your day to organize and prioritise. Ask God to bless and order your day from its very outset, while also giving him deliberate permission to upset your planned agenda.
3) Show up on time
The Book of Proverbs captures the warning well. How long will you stay in bed, you slacker? When will you get up from sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the arms to rest, and your poverty will come like a robber, your need, like a bandit’ (Proverbs 6:9-11, CSB). Proper time management begins with being at work on time…every day.
4) Prioritize to W.I.N
Make frequent use of this simple acrostic to keep you on task and on target. W.I.N—“What’s Important Now?” Why would you want to be doing anything else?
5) Think on paper
Writing things down minimizes confusion and brings clarity and cohesion to your thoughts. Getting it on paper helps to zero in on what really needs to happen and what kinds of questions still need answering.
6) Stick with your system
Whatever kind of time management method you decide to use, wear it out and make it work for you. Don’t try interfacing two systems at once. Things are hard enough to keep your arms around without doing everything possible to streamline and simplify.
7) Schedule your time in blocks
Rather than scatter shooting various activities throughout your day, bunch similar tasks together to avoid loss of concentration and wasted time traveling between venues.
8) Make good use of mealtimes
You may consider scheduling meetings over breakfast, lunch or even dinner. That way you’ll make the most out of the meeting.
9) Anticipate interruptions
A schedule that doesn’t leave room for the unexpected is an invitation for frustration. Real life is way too good at disrupting things, and there’s only so much you can do about it. Therefore, don’t cram your calendar so full that it takes every spare minute to accomplish the week’s priorities. Leave enough breathing room in there to accommodate interruption.
10) Beware of “time-eaters”
I know they mean well, but many of the people who ask if you’ve got a minute really mean fifteen minutes.
11) Manage impromptu meetings
Your feet are often your best ally in keeping off-the-cuff encounters from becoming long, drawn-out affairs. If someone catches you in the hallway, consider carrying on the conversation while you’re walking to the place you were headed. If they stop by your office, stand to greet them and keep standing while you visit. Sitting down is an unspoken indicator that you’re willing to engage in a long conversation. Save this for times when that’s really what you mean.
12) Don’t feel attached to every email
Not everybody likes email, but some people do. It can be a wonderful time-saving tool for many forms of communication. At the same time, it can cost one valuable hours each week if one is not careful with how to use it especially with what it likes to demand of the person.
13) Wrap up the day
Before leaving your office in the afternoon or evening, clear your desk, put everything back where it belongs, and enter the next day’s to-do list on your calendar. This will reduce the stress of having to remember something for the next day, plus you won’t have to waste time clearing up the office first thing in the morning. Make the necessary preparations to start every day off as fresh as possible.
4 Reasons why people are too Busy Without Being Productive
Leaders need to be careful how they spend time to avoid being just busy without being productive. J. Hampton Keathley III suggests four reasons why people are too busy, but are going nowhere in terms of eternal investments, or in accomplishing God’s will.
1) People may stay busy because of their egos.
People want to appear important. In our society, the crowded schedule, the incredible number of hours and heavy demands are supposed to show how successful or important a person is. Somehow we have come to gauge people, including ourselves, by activity and performance, so we overload our schedules.
2) People may stay busy as a cover up for laziness.
Running around in a lot of extracurricular activities is sometimes a way to avoid the more important or difficult responsibilities. This is particularly true for pastors. Some would rather be busy with all kinds of things rather than spend many hard hours working and thinking through the Bible or praying. If a pastor doesn’t take the time to study and know the word, how can he lead people to the quiet and still waters of God’s word? The same principle applies to all of us.
3) People may stay busy because of greed or materialism.
Matthew 6 is a classic commentary on this problem. People are busy, busy, busy because they have upside-down priorities and they are never satisfied; enough is never enough. As a result, they pursue the details of life from morning to evening. If they make a certain amount of money this year, next year they want to make more. Greed for money is only one aspect. This can also involve greed for power, praise, prestige, position, possessions, and security.
4) People may stay busy because they are more concerned about pleasing men rather than God.
They have never learned to say “no” which is important to our ability to keep God’s priorities before us. If we do not plan our schedules and decide what we should and should not do, others will decide for us. Our business will be a form of betrayal rather than commitment. A good illustration of this is seen in Acts 6:1-7. When confronted with how to meet the needs of the people, they first approached the problem by establishing priorities according to biblical principles. They said, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to wait on tables. But carefully select from among you, brothers,…whom we may put in charge of this necessary task.” Instead of adding this job to their present responsibilities, they delegated the task to others. Biblical priorities and God’s will for us individually must determine our activities rather than the wants or even the needs of people.
Numbering Our Days: Wisdom from Psalm 90:12
Numbering our days also means evaluating the quality of our time spent. The amount of time we spend at something is often not as important as the quality of the time spent.
1) Not only must we consider where our time goes, but how we spend it and why.
How refers to how well. Is it quality time? For instance,
- Do you take time for God’s word and other projects which require solid thinking and alertness when you are beat, or when you are at your best?
- When you spend time with your family, is your mind and heart somewhere else? Are you distracted?
- When in church, for instance, what exactly are you thinking about?
2) The why is also very important. We need to consider our motives and goals in the use of time.
As believers we need goals and a plan. All we do should be structured around fulfilling biblical goals. We need:
- objectives (immediate, short-range)
- goals (intermediate)
- a mission (long-range).
Everything we do in the use of our time should be structured around the above. This includes rest, recreation, relaxation, fun, as well as our work, service, and ministry.
By gaining control of your time, you gain control of your life rather than giving it over to others who are more than happy to do it for you. After all, who better knows what you should be doing with your time than you? And if you don’t know, then you’re not really leading. Time is a gift. Unwrap it wisely.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
- On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest and 1 the lowest, rate your effectiveness in using your time for the following:
Insert table on page 133
EVALUATION AND ACTION
- List the three biggest time-wasters in your life.
- What ways can you protect your time against those time-wasters?
- What are three ways you could reclaim pockets of wasted time in your schedule?
- Read Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. What lessons on time management can we draw from this passage?