Consult Your Calendar
Consult Your Calendar
Recently I got a calendar. Actually, that’s only half true. Recently my wife ordered me a calendar. I used to write dates and events on a small white notepad and just kept adding or scratching out the new or old dates accordingly. It was a mess, to say the least. I’m probably a mess too, to say the least.
The calendar has really been beneficial, and now I carry it with me 5 days a week. It makes me think, “how did I get this far in life without it?” The truth is, I’m still not really a calendar kind of guy, but I want to better myself and this is a way to keep myself more organized and also informed. It’s amazing how much information you can put and keep in a calendar.
This, of course, led me to think and consider how I use the most precious and expensive resource we have, have been given, will ever have, or will ever be given: time. I say expensive but many of us treat it as expansive. Many of us treat it like we have tons of it in no small or short supply. Many of us act like it’s not valuable or vulnerable, but it is.
It’s being used and simultaneously attacked every single day. Everything and everyone is vying for it. Not your money - your time. And if your time is money, how much extra do you have lying around? In a way, time is a currency, but it’s not how much you have, it’s how are you using it.
Time is the most precious of commodities. We all have it. We all get the same amount each and every day - until we don’t. This commodity can’t be collected, or multiplied, or bought, or even sold. It can only be used… or wasted.
Time is one of the (if not the) greatest resources on this earth that we have. The problem is, we don’t own it - we loan it. The Bible references in Proverbs 27:1 and James 4:13-15 that were not promised tomorrow. I’d like to take it one step further and say it this way - yesterday is worthless, tomorrow is pointless, don’t let today be useless.
Now I say that more to get our focus on today and off yesterday or tomorrow. The best place you can be to affect your future is in the present. You can’t affect it in the past - it’s already gone. You can’t affect it in the future - it isn’t here yet. But you certainly can affect your future in the present. So be very careful with your time.
Your time is your greatest asset or liability. It depends on how and where and with whom you use it. Yes, what you do is also important. But if you’re around the right people, in the right place, at the right time, you’re far less likely to do the wrong thing.
Time is your greatest investment. It tells a lot about you. Where you put your time speaks volumes. People used to say, you can tell what’s important by how you spend your money. And I don’t disagree with this, but I think something even more telling that you spend your money is where you spend your time. Time is proof of what you value.
For example, it’s hard to get to know someone that you don’t spend time with. You can say you know things about them, but it’s hard to know them if you don’t spend time with them. Plenty of people know about God, but that’s not the same thing as knowing what God’s about.
The truth is, we all have more time than excuses, but somehow we always give more excuses than we do time. And don’t take time - make time. You prioritize what is important to you. You spend your time on things you deem important. Not with your words, but with your actions - with your time.
So how do you create more time in your schedule? I’ll show you. “Yes” negates margin; “No” creates margin. The more you say yes to, the less time you have. The more you say no to, the more time you have. If you’re “too busy” you might be saying yes to too much.
So… want to know what you prioritize? Want to know what you value? Want to know what you think is important? Want to know what you treasure? Just look at where you spend your time. And then use it - don’t waste it.
Recently I got a calendar. Actually, that’s only half true. Recently my wife ordered me a calendar. I used to write dates and events on a small white notepad and just kept adding or scratching out the new or old dates accordingly. It was a mess, to say the least. I’m probably a mess too, to say the least.
The calendar has really been beneficial, and now I carry it with me 5 days a week. It makes me think, “how did I get this far in life without it?” The truth is, I’m still not really a calendar kind of guy, but I want to better myself and this is a way to keep myself more organized and also informed. It’s amazing how much information you can put and keep in a calendar.
This, of course, led me to think and consider how I use the most precious and expensive resource we have, have been given, will ever have, or will ever be given: time. I say expensive but many of us treat it as expansive. Many of us treat it like we have tons of it in no small or short supply. Many of us act like it’s not valuable or vulnerable, but it is.
It’s being used and simultaneously attacked every single day. Everything and everyone is vying for it. Not your money - your time. And if your time is money, how much extra do you have lying around? In a way, time is a currency, but it’s not how much you have, it’s how are you using it.
Time is the most precious of commodities. We all have it. We all get the same amount each and every day - until we don’t. This commodity can’t be collected, or multiplied, or bought, or even sold. It can only be used… or wasted.
Time is one of the (if not the) greatest resources on this earth that we have. The problem is, we don’t own it - we loan it. The Bible references in Proverbs 27:1 and James 4:13-15 that were not promised tomorrow. I’d like to take it one step further and say it this way - yesterday is worthless, tomorrow is pointless, don’t let today be useless.
Now I say that more to get our focus on today and off yesterday or tomorrow. The best place you can be to affect your future is in the present. You can’t affect it in the past - it’s already gone. You can’t affect it in the future - it isn’t here yet. But you certainly can affect your future in the present. So be very careful with your time.
Your time is your greatest asset or liability. It depends on how and where and with whom you use it. Yes, what you do is also important. But if you’re around the right people, in the right place, at the right time, you’re far less likely to do the wrong thing.
Time is your greatest investment. It tells a lot about you. Where you put your time speaks volumes. People used to say, you can tell what’s important by how you spend your money. And I don’t disagree with this, but I think something even more telling that you spend your money is where you spend your time. Time is proof of what you value.
For example, it’s hard to get to know someone that you don’t spend time with. You can say you know things about them, but it’s hard to know them if you don’t spend time with them. Plenty of people know about God, but that’s not the same thing as knowing what God’s about.
The truth is, we all have more time than excuses, but somehow we always give more excuses than we do time. And don’t take time - make time. You prioritize what is important to you. You spend your time on things you deem important. Not with your words, but with your actions - with your time.
So how do you create more time in your schedule? I’ll show you. “Yes” negates margin; “No” creates margin. The more you say yes to, the less time you have. The more you say no to, the more time you have. If you’re “too busy” you might be saying yes to too much.
So… want to know what you prioritize? Want to know what you value? Want to know what you think is important? Want to know what you treasure? Just look at where you spend your time. And then use it - don’t waste it.
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1 Comment
Well said! If you want something, pay attention to it. A pastor friend once described too BUSY as “Being Under Satan’s Yoke”. Ouch. How we use our time becomes even more precious to us older folks. :)