Time Management

“Teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).

Perhaps like you, I’ve read the preceding verse numerous times and didn’t give it much thought.  However, in recent months, I have been challenged to take another look.  The psalmist, I believe, has much to say to our fast-paced, busy generation.  Let’s dissect this powerful verse.

First he says, “Teach us.”  Good time management is a learned skill.  If we don’t learn how to spend our time, we may very well squander precious moments that we’ll never get back.  You understand the difference between rest and relaxation and wasting time, right?  Watching your favorite TV show may relax you, but spending hours in front of the TV may rob you of productivity.

The next phrase is “to number our days.”  We must learn to plan.  To plan is to optimize our time and energies.  When I taught high school English back in the 80’s, I discovered that if I didn’t plan something for my students, they would!  Life is too short to squander our days.  Let’s make them count!  I’ve adopted the “good, better, best” formula and try to apply it to my everyday life.  I ask myself, “Is what I’m doing the good thing, or the better thing, or is it the best thing to do given my current situation?”

We all have the same 24 hours. May we spend them wisely, which leads me to the next phrase:  “That we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”  We need wisdom when it comes to effective time management.  Understand something.  The psalmist indicates that what we do with our time is driven by what’s in our heart. 

If we’re lazy or unmotivated, our hearts draw us to waste precious life moments.  I often meet up with people who do absolutely nothing with their lives.  Television, video games, cell phones and social media steal their life potential and at the end of each day these “couch potatoes” have nothing to show for their time.  And most of them are depressed and bound by some type of habit that steals their productivity, and gradually kills their hearts.  I can think of few things sadder than a wasted life.

Again, our hearts dictate what we do with our time.  I want my life to speak well of the Christ I represent.  I want time to be my friend, not my nemesis.  At 62 years old, I look back and ask, “Where did the past six decades go?  Time went by so quickly.  My kids are raised and now have families of their own.  I have six grandkids (and another on the way!), I’m going to be Medicare eligible in three years, and I want to know where time went! 

Do you see my point?  Let’s make each day count.  Let’s not squander our time on needless things and activities that add up to nothing in the long run. 

I know!  Let’s invest in what gladdens the heart of God – people!  In our very self-centered, narcissistic world, let’s use our time to make an eternal difference in the lives we touch every day.  In that way, time is on our side!