599: Time and Events

Last week I shared with you my activities during the month of April, making it one of my busiest months ever.  I have been taking it a day at a time, and so far, things have gone well. I have sensed God's help, but I have had to make the most of almost every available minute, which reminded me of a Memo I wrote a few years ago.  It is pertinent today, so I thought I would share it with you again.

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Time management is one of the toughest disciplines in life, but critical to achieving purpose and goals, so I thought I would devote the next few weeks to that topic.  If you don't need any input on time management, then you can take a few weeks off, but should spend your time reading about how to tell the truth!  Truth be told, we all need help where time management is concerned.

A MISNOMER  

Time management is the wrong definition of what you need. You don't need help managing time, for time cannot be managed. It goes by at the same pace it always has. You cannot save it, slow it down, speed it up or recover it once it's gone. You cannot manage time; you can only manage the events that occur within the time that you have.  Rather than call it time management, we should really think of it as event management.

Let me give you an example. There is nothing special about 6 AM, until you set your alarm for 6 AM.  The wake up call is the event that takes place at 6 AM. Then you have to be at work at 7:30, so you must manage a series of events to insure you are there on time. Those events include showering, breakfast, devotions, getting the children off, and the commute to work. There is nothing you can do about the 90 minutes to get to work from the time you get out of bed; it will pass as every 90 minute segment of time has always passed. There are a lot of things you can do, however, to manage the events that occur in those 90 minutes. What you do in them will determine whether or not you are successful, defined by being on time or late for work.

The rest of your life is like that as well. You have 24 hours every day; you just don't know how many 24 hour units you have ahead of you. My mother passed away at 92 years of age; a young child of five who attended my church was killed in a house fire a few years ago. Your times are truly in His hands, and you have the duty and joy of making the most of every day that you have on earth. You will do that by managing the events therein as best you can.

EVENT MANAGEMENT  

In past Memos, I have told you that you have all the time in the world, and it's true. You have 24 hours for every day you are alive, the same as everyone else. Then why can some produce so much and others seem to struggle just to get through the day?  It's because the productive person understands the difference between time and event control.

So perhaps you should start by doing a simple time inventory to determine exactly what events are filling the time you have.  It's not so complicated to do and you can read two articles I have about it on my website (see the Organization section). You can get started this week by learning where you are investing or spending your time. After that, you can see what you need to stop doing so you can embrace new activities and goals that will bring you more joy and fulfillment and more in line with your governing values.  As you work on your inventory in the days ahead, I know you will have a great week!

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KENYA: You can read my latest updates from Kenya concerning the container resources that are being distributed here (the child at left is modeling the jeans and shoes we sent over-click to enlarge). Of course the needs are still great, but we are making a difference.  To help continue that difference, please give a generous contribution through my website or by sending a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882. Thank you and God bless you for your generosity.

A NEW PAGE: I have added a new page to my website that contains many of my spoken messages from the past along with my archived Saturday morning radio shows. This is my gift to you, made possible in large part by my son's untiring efforts to convert many of my old messages from cassette to MP3 files. Thank you J3!  I hope you find things on this page that are helpful to you.  I will update it from time to time as we convert other messages and as the radio show continues to gain momentum here locally.

Comments

[Ericavance]

Thank you for this topic! I am looking forward to more tips!

[Ericavance]

Great articles!! I especially enjoyed the story about Mozart. What an amazing concept! To give up something you are excellent at to really increase and excel at "the one" something you want to devote to...I usually think of giving up the things I am "not so good at" or activities that aren't as productive! Thought provoking for me today! Thanks.