I think that most productive people are sort of always on a mission to use their time effectively. There is so much information available to us on the subject of time management, including books, articles, blogs, etc. A few years back, I personally stopped using the phrase “time management.” In my opinion, I find the phrase to be somewhat deceptive. Of course, I understand what it implies, but to me, to manage something implies that I have control over it. And honestly, I don’t feel that I have control over “time.” I can choose, and only to an extent [sleep is inevitable], how I will use my time. I understand that “my choice” is the essence of management; but personally, I prefer to use the phrase: time allocation. “To-MAY-tos” [tomato], “to-MAH-tos” [tomato] right? Although, occasionally I must admit, that out of habit and prior use, I sometimes use the two phrases interchangeably.
I like to take important life concepts and digest them into concepts that are meaningful to me, so that I can then translate those concepts into actionable items. If knowledge exists, but I don’t know how to apply it to my life, then I cannot act in wisdom. I love the phrase: wisdom is applied knowledge. Four simple words that are immeasurably profound.
I don’t control time. I can only allocate my time. One can only imagine what it would be like to truly possess the ability to control time: to stop/pause time; to rewind it; to fast forward it. But none of these options are available to me. Therefore, how can I truly manage something that I don’t even control? On the contrary, what I’ve come to understand, over the years, is that time does not take me into consideration. Time continues, and it does not ask or need my permission to do so.
Three observations concerning time are:
1. It only moves in one direction, and that’s forward.
2. It never stops moving forward. It moves continuously: it never takes a break, not even for a second.
3. As humans, and really for all life, time is a depleting resource. Our time, in terms of our life here on Earth only decreases. It never increases. Therefore, eventually it will one day be extinguished.
This is why I prefer to use the phrase time allocation. The word allocate means to set apart for a particular purpose; to assign or to allot. When I think of my time in terms of “time allocation,” the concept becomes easily translatable into an actionable item: choosing to what I will allocate my time.
Time allocation is unique to each of us. We all have different lives, are in different stages within life, and possess different priorities and values. Therefore, of course, time allocation varies from person to person.
However, regardless of the stage in life that you are in, I think that it is extremely important to be conscious of time, specifically, to be conscious of your time. I would probably argue that, second only to our health, time is our most precious resource, and it is expensive. Everything that we do expends our time. For instance, as humans, we are required to sleep, and that expends our time. I would compare sleep to an app on an iPhone. The iPhone comes preloaded with apps that we cannot delete. Likewise, as humans, we are required to sleep, whether we want to or not. It is God’s built-in design for us. But the beauty of sleep is that, in it, we are not “wasting” time, we’re only expending it. Sleep is vital to the proper functioning of our bodies, and it is one method that our body uses to repair itself.
How you spend your time matters. Think of your life as a gift to the world, and as a gift to those around you. What are you producing with your time? What do you have to show for your time? We’ve all heard the phrase that everyone gets the same twenty-four hours a day. Of course, it is quite evident that the product of these twenty-four hours a day can vary greatly from person to person. For instance, the product(s) produced will vary based on an individual’s purpose, and also based upon their wisdom amongst many other factors.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that you choose what you will spend your time on. You can choose to use your time in a productive manner, or to waste your time.
Time allocation means that you are setting time aside [assigning your time] to specific tasks. We don’t control time, we work and exist within it. Therefore, it is important that we work within its existing framework.
I want to share with you five categories to consider in your time allocation: 1) God, 2) your health and well-being, 3) purpose, 4) relationships, and 5) responsibilities.
I believe that time allocation for these five categories is essential for most people. But however you choose to allocate your time, just know that it is important to consciously do so. The very essence of our lives consists in how we spend our time here on this Earth, and what we leave behind.
The allocation of our time is essential to living authentically.
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