01 Jun Time Management God’s Way – June 12

By Grace Susatyo

In the church, we are often confronted with leading, or at least being a part of one church activity or another. I can remember back in the days of my youth when practically every hour that was not spent at University, was spent working on the up-coming church events. After realizing that my grades were affected, I completely stopped getting involved in church activities. This should not have happened if I could manage my time better back then.

God gives every single person 24 hours every day; no more, no less. The real challenge is how we use the time that God gives productively. Let Psalm 90:12 become our prayer everyday asking God to “Teach us to make the most of our time, so that we may grow in wisdom”.

Here are some tips for you to manage your time God’s way:

Tip 1 – Don’t procrastinate

Some students are just plain lazy, they like to procrastinate. ‘Oh, my favourite TV show is about to start. I will review this chapter tomorrow’.

To help you get things organised, one of the easiest way I know is to list all things that you need to do and write them up on your planner. And once you have the list, ensure that you follow it as much as you can. It will definitely help you to be more productive, experience less stress, and manage your time better.

Tip 2 – Prioritise

You should start doing the most important things first, followed by the less important ones. PICKLE JAR theory illustrates that imagine you have a jar, put some large rocks in it first and then some pebbles in, then put some sand and fill it up with water until you cannot put anything in.

Rocks represent the highest priority in your life. Pebbles are for the things that you want to do, but do not have to. Sand is for the things that are not important or inappropriate. Finally, things that simply do not really add any value to your lives are represented by water.

No matter what you do, let Matthew 6:33 “seek first the kingdom of God” be your number one priority in your life.

Tip 3 – Rest

God has stamped this “work six days, rest one day” duty cycle into our lives. As Christian students, you must rest on Sunday as it is God’s command, no matter how busy your weekly schedule is. Use your Sunday as God intends by attending your local church service, stop from your regular work and rest in God’s presence.

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil” – Ephesians 5:15-16 –