Time Management 101…

We hear the phrase time management frequently….especially in our work lives…so, what exactly is time management?

Well, let’s break it down first…what is time? Quite simply, time refers to a limited period or interval between two successive events…

Management is the art of managing, directing, and controlling…

Hence, it is only logical to conclude, that time management is the art of managing, directing, and controlling time (ususally, one’s own)…

Why then is the management of time such a difficult thing for some of us?…In this post, I attempt to share a few tips on how to manage time better, in order to get more done, and achieve more effective results…

1. Wake up earlier…subtract 15-30 minutes from your usual wake-up time…use an alarm clock if necessary…

2. Write things down…use a diary/schedule planner, or simply carry a “to-do” list or a notebook, around…remember; “failure to plan is planning to fail”…

3. Stop procrastinating…do today what you can do today…only leave until tomorrow what you can’t do today…make a list of other bad habits that steal your time, and work on them…

4. Set goals and objectives; personal and business…Prioritize your work…seperate tasks into “urgent vs. important”…remember; “urgent things are seldom important, and important things are seldom urgent”…

5. Don’t take on more than you can handle…ask for help when you need it…learn to delegate; you can’t do all…

6. Learn to say NO nicely (i.e. without offending anyone)…offer or accept to help only when you can…

7. Avoid staying idle…remember “an idle mind is the devil’s workshop”…don’t spend time gossiping or peddling rumours…use your time productively…whatever time you fail to invest properly is written off and can no longer be regained…

8. Make time out for different occassions; work, play, etc. and do not cheat, i.e. don’t work during play time, and vice versa…

I conclude on the following points;

• time is valuable, and when spent productively, can yield very positive results…
• time is limited, so make the best use of it while you’ve got it…take control and decide not to waste any more time…
• time is money! spend it wisely…
• better time management = less stress management

I came accross the following quote in an email sent to me by a friend… “Yesterday is history…tomorrow, a mystery…today is a gift”…

Did I leave anything out? Have you got other time management tips? Please feel free to share with us…

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House on the Rock (HOTR) London…

I haven’t been updating for a while…hubby and I went for a well deserved break…(only to London, nothing fancy)…but we did have a nice time, many thanks to the lovely family members and friends who played host to us…I had fun not cooking, washing up, hoovering, etc…not like I do those all the time though cos hubby is soooooo helpful…I’m certainly blessed to have him.

Anyway, as I was saying about our London trip, We worshipped at HOTR (House on the Rock) London, pastored by Pastor (hope that isn’t tautology) Omawunmi Efueye, who also preached the sermon that Sunday. It was a great service and the sermon title was How to Get Gold in a Barren Land.

Pastor O, as he is fondly called by his congregation, gave three ways by which we can all obtain gold in a barren land;

1. Planning according to God’s word

2. Timely contact; here he reminded us that people come into our lives for seasons and for reasons (by the way, I have at least one personal experience of the seasonal relationship, which I will someday share with you…please remind me if I forget…lol) and stated that the key to cultivating our contacts is by being relevant and useful to those around us.

3. Industry/diligence/work. Ok, this was where Pastor O caught me hands down when he mentioned that diligence is the antidote to procrastination and daydreaming. Particular emphasis on procrastination, as in, for example this post was meant to have been written since sunday…I started and left if off till now for no apparently necessary reason…when hubby and I read today’s Open Heavens (actually not really today’s cos we are still using the 2007 edition…imagine that!)  and Pastor Adeboye mentioned that one of the biggest problems believers have is laziness, I felt oh no! talking to me again…I HAVE to change…for real! (Check out one of my periods of procrastination HERE!).

Anyway, there ends my download of Pastor O’s sermon…hope that’s not plagiarism though…lol…reminds me of my MSc. days when we were so scared of plagiarising any author’s work for fear of prosecution…lol…

Without meaning to offend anyone, I had always thought (based on hear-say, cos I had never attended HOTR) that it was an assembly of people with a mission to display their latest fashion collections…I mean, someone once told me that she stopped attending HOTR when her new clothes got finished and she ran out of money to purchase a new wardrobe, and I thought what! that ain’t what a Church should be? Don’t get me wrong, I do like and listen to Pastor Paul (the Senior Pastor of HOTR) now and again, it was just that I did have that bias against the Church. But now, having attended one of their services, even though it was at the London (not Lagos) Church, I’m convinced that you should never judge a book by its covers. Here’s the Church website link if you wish to check them out… http://www.hotr.org.uk/index.asp.

Oh, by the way, NEPA took light this evening, just as I was about to resume typing up this post…for good 30 minutes! Ok, I know there’s no NEPA here in the UK, but I have never (before today, that is) experienced or even heard of a lights out in the UK. As such, I was prompted to conclude that it must have been NEPA/PHCN, somehow.

I hereby take a pledge, to update my blog (as long as there’s something to write) more often…so help me God!

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