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All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
Leading Your Time .......................................................................4 Lesson #1 Know Where Your Time Is Going ..............................8 Lesson #2 Map Your Time Out ..................................................14 Lesson #3 Just Say No ...............................................................20 Lesson #4 Enjoy Your Time .......................................................26 Conclusion..................................................................................30 About John Barrett .....................................................................31 www.johnbarrettcompany.com
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Leading Your Time Over the years of traveling, speaking, and pastoring I have had the opportunity to speak in front of thousands of people. It has been a great honor to inspire others and bring insight to many different topics. My passion is to see people lifted up and challenged to become the best they can be for themselves, for others, and most importantly for their Creator, God. I have seen so many individuals experience life-change as they embrace the principles that lead them to their best life! Being a certified coach on the John Maxwell Team has also opened the door for me to help build people's lives as well as their businesses. One of the practices of being a leadership coach is to eliminate the limiting factors that clients are facing. To do this I have to get to the root of what is holding back the progress of doing greater things. Within the coaching process and my interaction with people I have found two issues that seem to hold back greatness; two factors that seem to drag people back down into the pit. Unfortunately, these two disheartening things are common statements that a majority of people say and come to believe. When they come to believe these statements they tend to live under the lid of the “cages” these statements build. I use the term “cages” to drive the point home that they trap people in a limited lifestyle. These two statements transcend race, region, and religion. They are a common denominator that those dealing with limitation seem to face. Here they are… 1. I don’t have enough TIME. 2. I don’t have enough MONEY. This book will be focusing mainly on the first excuse, time. The problem of not having enough time plagues most people. It is one of the fiercest enemies of our fulfillment. It is the empty feeling of never being able to do everything you want to do, because
you are too busy doing all of the things that you have to do! Many people feel like an octopus on roller skates; there is a lot of commotion in their lives without a lot of forward-moving progress!
For the sake of our current discussion, allow me the liberty of simplifying our complex life. Be-
cause when you boil it all down, living a fulfilled life is simply about time. Time is the measurable use of one’s life.
The CURRENCY of life is MADE with time.
Benjamin Franklin said,
"Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of."
Life is about how we spend our TIME! Time is everything! Time determines the course of our
life. British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli said,
“He who gains time gains everything.”
How we spend our time determines how we spend our life. We will never reach our potential
and live life to the fullest without truly understanding time!
What we do with the time we have been given determines what we will get out of it. Think of
time like money. Time has a R.O.I. (Return On Investment). We can either spend our time or invest our time. If we simply spend our time, we will never get it back. What we see is what we get. There is no more and no less. “It is what it is,” as my Father-in-Law says. However, when you invest your time you receive compounded interest from it. What is the compounded interest? A fulfilled life!
How you USE your time will determine the QUALITY of the life you live. Ephesians 5:15-15 (ESV) Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
When we learn to make the best use of our time, we learn how to live life to the fullest. We
must live carefully with the time we have been given or we will be in danger of missing incredible opportunities. When we are not making the best use of our time we become foolish and ignorant of how important time really is. Author Michael LeBoeuf said,
“Waste your money and you're only out of money, but waste your time and you've lost a part of your life.”
This book is going to help you learn how to control your time so that it doesn’t control you. It is
going to teach you how to get time to work for you! It will also give you great insight on how to get things done. I have found that their are 3 types of people when it comes to time...
A Victim Of Their Time
These are the people that are being beaten up and knocked out by their schedule. They have
the inability to say, "NO" so therefore they are consumed with "STUFF" that clutters their life. These people have no defense against the time stealers that are robbing them of productivity. They overschedule and over-commit themselves to more than they can handle. Remember when Moses was trying to lead ALL of Israel by himself ? His father-in-law, Jethro, came to Moses and told him he needed to raise up other men to lead. Jethro said, "The thing you do is NOT good." Victims have to stand up and defend their time or they will be slaughtered by it.
A Manager Of Their Time
These people are simply keeping their head above water, treading back and forth. They are not
getting ahead in life, they are just maintaining what they have. Managers usually just keep their life from getting too crazy. Their focus is on keeping the ship afloat, so they are doing their best to throw any extra water that gets in the boat back out. Managers of their time are stressed out trying to keep from being overwhelmed by the daily demands of life. Most people feel that if they manage their time they are doing well. But they never really feel like they have time to do the things they want to do, because the immediate sucks up every ounce of energy. They are left with little to no room to up their productivity.
A Leader Of Their Time
These are the people who make time work for them. They control their time, their time doesn't
control them. They are focused on getting the things done that REALLY matter and will yield a fruitful harvest from their labor. They do not waste their time on good things, they spend most of their time on the BEST things that only they can do. They delegate the rest to others or surrender it up altogether. Leaders of their time do things that they feel "called" to do, and things that they are "purposed" to do. Jesus spent His days leading His time and doing the things the "Father" did...
John 5:19 Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.
Jesus led His TIME and did the things that were PURPOSEFUL for Him to do.
Everyday counts, so make the most of it and aspire to be a LEADER of your time. Let’s jump
into the lessons in this book…
Lesson #1 Know Where Your Time Is Going “Today I will do what others won't so tomorrow I can do what others can't.”
I loved to watch G.I. Joe as a child. At the very end of the cartoon was a public safety message.
These messages were comprised of a G.I. Joe character acting out an important safety situation, i.e. looking both ways before crossing the street. At the end of each public safety message the character would say, “Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.” Well, G.I. Joe hit it on the head. Knowing IS half the battle! When it comes to time, you have to know where your time is going or you will never be able to get a hold of it.
What you do today will determine the quality of your life tomorrow. The time you invest today
will purchase tomorrow's productivity. The greater the price you pay today the greater the reward tomorrow! The less of a price you pay today the less you will be able to do tomorrow.
So many people have a desire to get their dream projects finished but never get around to it.
WHY? Well, they claim they don’t have enough time. However, I am not sure it is a matter of not having enough time as much as it’s a matter of not using their time wisely. You see, we all have the same amount of time in a day. No one gets more, no one gets less. As a matter fact, every human that has ever been on the planet throughout all of history has had the same amount of time each day… 86,400 seconds to be exact. We ALL live within the same parameters. You can't earn more time and you can't buy more time. So why is it that some people seem to have ALL the time in the world and some seem to have NO time at all? Why can someone get 100 things done in a day and others strug-
gle to get 5 things done? Why do some people seem to multiply their time and others can't seem to even find their time? Is it because some people have found the secret to making more time? Were they blessed with more hours in the day? Or did they find time lying around somewhere hidden? No, they used their time very wisely like Ephesians 5 said for us to do. They made time be the slave to their priorities.
It's ALL about our approach to the day. There are 2 ways you can approach the day…
1. Say, "Good morning Lord!" 2. Say, "Good Lord, it's morning?”
Our day is DETERMINED by how we APPROACH it.
How do you act when the alarm sounds in the morning? I love what Zig Ziglar said about the
alarm clock. He said negative people call it an alarm clock, positive people call it an opportunity clock! How we approach the day determines our daily agenda. Our daily agenda determines our productivity. Our productivity determines our direction. Our direction determines our destination.
Here's a few questions to ask yourself...
"What are you doing today to be successful tomorrow?"
“What are you doing today that is getting you one step closer to accomplishing the future you
hope for?”
We can't change the past, and we don't know what tomorrow holds, but we can choose what we
do today. What you do today will help determine what tomorrow will be. For example... ~ If you exercise today you will be healthier tomorrow. ~ If you save money today you will have it tomorrow.
~ If you work on a project today you will be one step closer to finishing it tomorrow. ~ If you read today you will be closer to completing the book tomorrow. ~ If you pray today you will be paving the spiritual road for tomorrow. ~ If you practice your skill today you will be closer to mastering that skill tomorrow. ~ If you put gas in the tank today you don't have to fill it tomorrow. ~ If you have the "meeting" today you can move on tomorrow. ~ If you forgive yourself and others today you can walk in freedom tomorrow. ~ If you spend time thinking today then you will have a plan for tomorrow. ~ If you love others today you will have relationships with you tomorrow. ~ If you spend time with your kids today you will have respect from them tomorrow.
Today is a GIFT. What we do with that gift MAKES all the difference.
We can choose to leave the gift of today wrapped, or we can unwrap this gift and make the
most of it. Unwrap it by taking the time to make the most of every opportunity you can.
The Bible says, "Today is the day that the Lord has made we rejoice and be glad in it." Why do
we rejoice? Because God is good, and He has given us opportunity to take ahold of each and every day. Don't let the days pass by waiting for tomorrow to bring you something better. Use today to its
maximum potential. What are you going to do today to get move you further along tomorrow? Don't let tomorrow show up and not be ready for it. Coach John Wooden said,
“When opportunity comes it’s too late to prepare.”
Prepare today so that tomorrow will be better. Embrace today and make the most of it. There
is no time like the present to start doing what you've always wanted to do. If you do not know where your time is going today, you will not know where your life is going tomorrow! "Remember, life is nothing more than the sum total of many successful years: a successful year is nothing more than the sum total of many successful months: a successful month is nothing more than the sum total of many successful weeks: a successful week is nothing more than the sum total of many successful days. That's why practicing successful habits day in and day out is the most certain way to win over the long term." ~ Robert Ringer
I often get asked how I have time to write books, write blogs, write songs, create artwork and
teach others how to do so, hold leadership coaching sessions, read, study, meet with people, pastor, teach, speak, enjoy family, have personal time, and everything else I like to do. My response is, "I will sleep when I die." The truth is, I am on the journey of learning how to make the most of my days just like everyone else. I decided years ago when I gave my life to Christ that I would live life to the fullest by making the most of it. I figured that if God gave me the gift of life I should give Him the gift of making the best of it! I thrive off of doing everything that God has put in my heart to do, and yes I do sleep, I actually enjoy it at times! I do not have a secret formula that others do not have, I simply don't sit around and DO NOTHING! Wait, did you hear that? I don't sit around and DO NOTHING! Sure, there are times I take it easy and rest like anyone else, but I figure life is about living not sitting. When others are sitting around thinking about what they would love to do, I just do it! I don't sit around thinking about writing a book one day, I start writing it. I don't sit around hoping to teach leadership to others, I pursue opportunities to speak. I don't sit around wishing I wrote a song that could help people connect with God, I use the skills God has given me and write one. I don’t talk myself out of it, I JUST DO IT!
Most people get stuck because they want to start on the level of amazing, but nothing starts
amazing, things only get amazing with hard work and practice. No one starts by being a master, they start by being a rookie. When it comes to my life I don't talk myself out of acting and I don't make excuses to not start!
Indecision is the MURDERER of productivity! And PROCRASTINATION is its weapon of choice!
Nothing will make you feel more unfulfilled than wasted time! Always know what you are doing
with your time, at all times. If you don’t know where your time is going you will never be able to use it to its fullest potential.
I have some deep wisdom for you…are you ready? Here it is…
You will NEVER finish something you never START!
So while others are waiting to start, just START! I have never seen someone complete a project
they never started. I have never seen someone sit around thinking about doing something and it magically happen without any effort. Procrastination and wishing never get anyone anywhere! So instead of wasting the precious days God has given us, I say life is about making the best use of them. Look what God's word says...
Psalm 90:12 Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Wow, can you see how important it is that we keep track of our days? God is serious about this
TIME stuff ! We have to learn how to number our days, so that we can gain a heart of wisdom. What does numbering our days mean? It means to make sure we are spending our time with intentionality and purpose. Financial author Robert Kiwosaki said,
"The difference between poor people and rich people is the use of their time."
It is not about how much time you have, it is about how you use the time you have that makes
the difference. When we learn to number our days we realize that life is a game of math - counting the cost of each day and every moment. Why do we have to wait for a funeral or a near death experience to shock us into the importance of each and every day we have on earth?
Too many people are barely surviving when it comes to their time. They do not have any to
spare and the feeling of treading water to stay afloat consumes them. But life is about moving forward and becoming ALL that God has called us to be.
When we come to the end of our life we will not wish we had watched more TV, slept more, or
spent more time daydreaming. We will wish that we had stepped out and spent our lives doing the things that mattered the most! Author Francis Chan said,
“Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.”
I encourage you to start asking God to give you the wisdom to know how to spend your time
and the wisdom to be mindful of your days. Let's see what God will show us and teach us together! Let's commit to learn how to live life to the fullest! Are you with me? Let's learn how to get more time, not by multiplying our hours, but by being more intentional with what we have already been given!
Time is the most VALUABLE thing we have on this earth, we have to learn to use it wisely! CHALLENGE #1 So here is your challenge...Track how you spend each hour of the day. Go hour by hour and write down what you did so that you can keep track of your time. Keep a log of everything from the time you wake up until the time you go to bed. Learn where your time is going. This will help you get an idea of where your life is heading. After you have put together a week or so of tracking take some time to sit down and reflect on how your time was spent. I guarantee that you will immediately find areas you wasted that you could have done more with.
Rule #1 If you don't know where your time is going you won't be able to get ahold of it
Lesson #2 Map Your Time Out “The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.” ~Michael Altshuler ~
In this lesson I want to talk about how to be intentional with your time. We have talked about
the importance of knowing where your time is going, and now I want to focus on directing your time. I find that too many people live life as it comes rather than preparing for it. We spend more time planning our grocery list than we do our lives. If we fail to plan our time we might as well plan to fail with our time. Intentionality is about doing things on purpose and with a purpose. Many times in life
we miss out on great opportunities because we don’t go after them. Life should not just be accepted it should be lead. Without a clear objective we tend to get knocked off course. If we are not in control of our time it will be controlled by something or someone else. Holocaust survivor Victor Frankl said,
“Without a clear purpose any obstacle will send a person in a new direction.”
Life is about being intentional, and being intentional is about being purposeful. Here is a great
story about intentionality…
One day Charlie Brown was in his back yard having target practice with his bow and arrow. He
would pull the bow string back and let the arrow fly into a fence. Then he would go to where the arrow had landed and draw a target around it. Several arrows and targets later, Lucy said, “You don’t do target practice that way. You draw the target, then shoot the arrow.” Charlie’s response: “I know that, but if you do it my way, you never miss!”
Sometimes we use our time like Charlie used his targets. We let our time go in whatever direc-
tion it will and then we draw a target around wherever we end up and call it life. But we need to be creating the life we want by using our time wisely. We have to be focused when it comes to our direction and purpose.
Life doesn’t just HAPPEN to turn out great, it turns out great BECAUSE we have used our time WISELY.
I read a study years ago about how much time is used in certain areas. The average person
spends...
6 months sitting at stoplights 8 months opening junk mail 1 year looking for misplaced items 2 years watching TV 5 years waiting in line 6 years eating
We certainly spend a lot of time on things that accumulate over the years. Though we will
spend lots of time on various unavoidable events we must make sure that we are efficient with our time.
Time that is not directed will flow to the things that matter least. It will be sucked up in a vac-
uum of busyness. When we don’t tell our time what to do, everything and everyone else will tell it what to do, and that usually doesn’t work out so well for us.
I want you to think of your time in 3 different quadrants. These quadrants are basically made
up of 8 hour zones: 8 Hours of Sleep 8 Hours of Work 8 Hours of Personal/Family Time = 24 Hour Day
Of course some of this time fluctuates with work demands, sleep patterns, and weekends.
However, as a general rule we will go with the 8 hour zones in a given day for illustrative purposes.
Usually your work time zone is pre-determined for you depending on your job situation, so we
are not going to jump into this zone for this lesson. However, if you are self-employed and set your own schedule this zone is vital for you to control! For those of you that set your own schedule, you can combine your work zone and personal/family zone into one category that you can break down later.
Zone 2 is the sleep zone. Our sleep zone is obviously a requirement. It is vital in order to sur-
vive and function.
Side note: if you are not getting enough sleep it WILL diminish your productivity, or if you are
getting too much sleep it will diminish your productivity as well. The key is to know exactly how much sleep you need and keep to it in order to get the most out of your day! Many people are not aware of their sweet spot for sleep. They have never tracked their sleep time to know when they are at their best or how much or how little sleep effects them. How you use your time when it comes to rest directly effects your ability to get things done, don’t forget! Take some time over the next week to track your sleep patterns and find out how it effects your energy level.
So with the work zone and the sleep zone filled up that leaves our 8 hour personal/family time
zone left. This is where the MAGIC happens...or doesn't happen. Unless you have the luxury of setting your own work schedule, the 8 hour personal /family zone is where the difference is made. If you do have the ability to set your own work schedule you may combine your personal & work schedule into 1 zone, however don’t forget to make sure you are having enough personal time for family, hobbies, entertainment, etc‌
The 8 hour personal zone is where most people lose their focus. They zone out watching too
much TV or sit around wasting precious time doing nothing of significance. Many times we are tired from our work day and just want to zone out, but if we zone out in one of the most important zones we will never do the things we want to do. If you are working towards a dream or goal this zone is where that happens. If you are working towards changing jobs and developing new skills, this is the zone where that can happen. This personal/family zone is VITAL to your future. We need to plan our personal/family time zone just as much as we would our work zone, or grocery list, or vacation. We have to be intentional with our personal time or we will never move forward.
Our personal time is full of family time, entertainment, rest, goals, projects, hobbies, learning,
reading, studying, developing new skills, serving, planning, etc...So without a clear intentional use of our personal time it can be overwhelming. We end up doing as the old proverbs says, "He who chases two rabbits never catches one."
We have to be aware and map out our personal/family time in order to get the most out of it.
You have to decide what the right balance is for this time zone. How much family time do you need? How much personal quiet time do you need? How much time do you need for entertainment? Once
you map that out, STICK TO IT! Let me say that again, STICK TO IT!! If you decide that an hour of TV each night is a good balance of entertainment then stick to it, don't veg out for hours and hours watching meaningless shows. Make sure you give yourself time to develop each area that you want to invest your time in.
I started mapping my time years ago when I realized I wasn't doing the things I really wanted
to do. One example is‌I love to paint, it refreshes me, it is a great joy for me to create. But I realized that if I did not schedule it in, painting time wouldn’t happen. I finally figured this out when I went about 6 months without painting at all. I realized that if I wasn't intentional about scheduling hobby time I would never do it. That time would get sucked away by other things. So now I schedule out hobby time. It is an important element for me, so I make sure I don't go without it for too long.
The point is, we have to schedule things in or they simply won't happen. The key is to know
what areas you want to invest time in and prioritize them. Many people get home and then try to figure out what they are going to do rather than taking the time to map it out earlier. Before they know it, their whole evening is over and they are tired and want to go to bed. Or they are running like crazy trying to do 250 things but still feel they aren't moving forward.
What is important to you? What are non-negotiable areas in your life that you want to invest
your time in? What do you not want to say "No" to? Whatever those areas are you need to schedule them in consistently.
A schedule is like a map. We all use maps to get to where we need to go. Maps guide us so that
we know where we are and where we are heading.
If you don't MAP out your day, you are likely to get LOST.
You can easily get nowhere with all the distractions and demands that can pop into your life.
Too many people are wandering about their day without a real plan.
If you have no map for your day, you have no real direction. And when you have no real direc-
tion you are likely to never get where you could have gone with some. Direction will get you to your destination faster. I think that in order to have a "rich" day that is full of life and accomplishment you have to map it out. Â Not only map out your day, but your week as well, and not only your week, but your month too.
Here are some tips to map out your life...
CHALLENGE #2 1. Start With The Month
Starting with the big picture is like getting the frame work for your time. You basically take a
birds eye view of your month. This is where you can mark down any known holidays, birthday's, special events, etc... First start by mapping out all of the known terrain you already have scheduled. Now that you have the known markers, start to fill in your desired plans for the month. Example: a fishing day, camping with your family, reading day, movie night, clean out garage, fix the house day. When I sit down and map my month, I set aside time to record music, write my books, meet with people, family time, and set time for painting my artwork. Starting with the month map lets you see if you have too much going on or if you need to add some things to your life. This will give you the overall picture for the month.
2. Layout your week
After you have your month map set, it is now time to prioritize your week. Usually every Sun-
day night or early Monday morning I lay out my entire week. This is where I set out my goals and a plan for each day. I work in blocks of time when I layout my week plan, meaning I block out 3 categories of time each week. First category is SELF. This is where I schedule time for things that I do (writing, painting, study, exercise, etc...). The next block is WORK. This is everything I do that is part of my job. The next is FAMILY. These are blocks of time at home or with my family. When I schedule out my blocks I am not detailing what I will be doing, just blocking out the time I know I have for the week with each area. This gives me a more organized plan for what to expect for the week. It also gives me a snapshot for making sure my time is spread out and I am not doing too little or too much in one block.
3. Schedule Your Day
Now it is time to schedule your day with a detailed plan of what you are going to be doing.
This is the time that you get to focus on how you will be reaching your goals. I lay out my time in half hour increments. I allow for flexibility here (doing what I do is very different from week to week with my schedule). Remember that a map gives you direction, it doesn't give you ever single little detail. So with that in mind, as long as you know where you are going, there is room to move things around as they change. Scheduling your day allows you to make sure you are accomplishing what you started out to do with your monthly overview. By having a map of your day you are enabled to make sure your day is successful and productive, not just busy.
Rule #2 Never start the day until it is mapped out from beginning to end.
Lesson #3 Just Say No Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin' into the future!
Do you remember the national drug campaign that Nancy Reagan started in the 80’s? The slo-
gan was “Just say no!” The advertisement focused on the importance of saying no to peer pressure in the context of illegal drugs. The phrase "Just Say No" first emerged when Nancy Reagan was visiting Longfellow Elementary School in Oakland, California and was asked by a schoolgirl what to do if she was offered drugs. The first lady responded by saying, "Just say no.”
“Just say no” is more than an illegal drug campaign, it should also be adopted by every human
being on the planet when it comes to their schedule and the use of their time. Too many people have not learned the power of the word “No.”
Time waits for no man, therefore we must use it or lose it! Time is not just a practical issue, it is
a spiritual issue. In the fourteenth century Monks devised a system to keep track of time in order to know when they should go to their scheduled prayers. The early clocks did not have dials on them, rather, they had bells that would tell you the time. In fact, the word "clock" comes from the German word "Glocke," meaning bell. Monks had to pray at the first light, at sunrise, in the middle of the morning, at noon, in the middle of the afternoon, at sunset, and at nightfall. So they designed a plan to keep track of each hour in order to remind them when to pray. This concept birthed the idea of the alarm clock! The origin of keeping track of time originated from a spiritual concept!
Just like the monks, if we do not know how to use time it will slip away from us. Time wasted
cannot be regained. C.S. Lewis said,
“The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is.”
Time is always moving forward, the question is: are we moving forward with it? Are we using
our time to focus on the things that matter and the things that will take us further in life? I have found that most people are so busy doing what they don't want to do, that they don't have time to do what they want to do.
Being too BUSY means something is WRONG!
If your schedule is so busy that you don't have any time to do the things you want to do, it is
because of poor time usage. Being too busy is an excuse that means you are not in control or that you are overcommitted! Corrie Ten Boom said,
“If the devil can’t make you bad, he’ll make you busy.”
Being too busy should be a sign that we are not using our time wisely. It should cause us to stop
and reflect in order to see if we are filling our schedule up with what really matters. Being too busy is a sign that we have never learned the power of "NO." If we keep saying "Yes" to the things we shouldn't be doing, we are basically saying "No" to the things we should be doing. The goal is not to cram more into our day, it is to get more out of our day.
For everything you add to your life there should be something you are giving up. If you are only
adding to your life, you will eventually crash because of too much baggage. Only adding but never subtracting from your schedule will make you a time hoarder. You will become consumed with the busyness of a cluttered life. Eventually you will be overwhelmed with the chaos of life. When our schedule gets too chaotic we become less productive. For each thing that you say "Yes" to, there should be an equal thing that you are saying "No" to. Most people are saying "Yes" to the wrong things and "No" to the right things. Sometimes we say “Yes” to the things that are good, but that means we are saying “No” to the things that are best for us. Don’t get lost in the good zone, get going in the best zone. The goal of life is to spend our time on the right things not the wrong things.
Years ago I had a super high octane employee serving under me. They were a great asset to the
organization, but had a problem using the word "NO." When they came in to my office to meet with me for guidance I could tell something was weighing on their heart. They had too many commitments outside of our organization and I really did not want to lose them. They were juggling two commitments they had made and simply couldn't keep doing both. When I talked to them about the concept of saying "Yes" to something meaning saying "No" to something else, I knew I could potentially lose them, but I was compelled to help them rather than hoard them. It came to the point that they had to say "No" to our organization in order to do what God was calling them to do in another area. It wasn't easy for them or for us, but it was the right thing to do. Now they are doing great, and I might add, they don't have the stress of juggling several commitments.
I ask myself an important question as I put together my schedule. The question is,
"Is this going to get me closer to who I want to be, doing what I want to do, making a difference in that which I want to make a difference in?"
If the answer is no, then I have to question if it is the best use of my time. Just because you are busy does not mean you are moving forward towards your goals and strengths.
A gentleman named John Henry Fabre conducted an experiment with Processionary
Caterpillars. They are so named because of their peculiar habit of blindly following each other no matter how they are lined up or where they are going. This man took a group of these tiny creatures and did something interesting with them. He placed them in a circle. For 24 hours the caterpillars dutifully followed one another around and around. Then he did something else. He placed the caterpillars on a round saucer full of pine needles (their favorite food). For six days the mindless creatures moved around and around the saucer, literally dying of starvation and exhaustion even though an abundance of choice food was located less than two inches away. You see, they had confused activity with accomplishment.
Ask yourself, "Is my time spent with activity or accomplishment?" Are you busy or are you pro-
ductive? There is a huge difference. What are you doing that you could delegate to someone else? What are you doing that you don't have to do? What are you doing that is dragging you down? What are you doing that is not moving you forward in your goals? What are you doing that you shouldn't be doing?
Before you say “Yes” to something new S.T.O.P.
S = Slow Down
Too many times we commit to something without realizing the repercussions of our agreement.
The first thing we have to do in order to focus on the best things is to slow down before we jump out and fill our schedule up. Slowing down is about taking some time to process the domino effect of our decision. Before we make a choice we first need to slow down and look at the whole situation we are facing. We need to get perspective. Perspective can change everything. Remember the popular hologram pictures? When you stood in just the right place an abstract picture would change before your very eyes into a beautiful scene. You had to get the exact perspective in order for the image to become clear and brilliant. Life works the same way. Many times we see situations out of focus. The choices we need to make become blurry and we lose perspective in the moment. This happens when we have
a knee-jerk reaction out of emotion that blurs our judgement at the moment. Instead of slowing down and seeing the whole picture along with repercussions of our actions, we just react.
T = Think
Think about how your time would be best used. Is the time you are going to be investing play-
ing into your strengths and goals or is it going to pull you away from your strengths and goals? I love to play chess because of the thinking it engages me in. My dad taught me how to play chess growing up and we still play around the holidays. I remember when he taught me that I should always think ahead about what the other person would do depending on my current move. He taught me to think through my choices and to be aware of the repercussions of my choices. God has given us the ability to think and make choices in life based on the thoughts we think, just like chess. Chess is a great example of life. We should always be thinking about our next move and be ready to act. Many people spend too much of their time playing rather than preparing. Thinking is preparing. Life is about thinking through who and what we want to be so that when the opportunities come for us to be that person, we are ready for it. Be ready for the choices in your life by investing into your time by thinking about who you want to be and where you want to go. Knowing the answers to those two questions will guide your choices in the right path.
O = Organize A Plan
Organize a plan of action when it comes to your time. Don’t simply make blind decisions, be
strategic about how to get the best use of your time. If you simply make decisions about how you use your time on autopilot (agreeing to whatever comes your way) you are bound to crash. We have to be very intentional about our plans and future. Just because opportunity comes your way doesn’t alway mean you should take it. You have to organize a plan within that opportunity in order to know if it is an opportunity that will take you somewhere. Organizing a plan is about asking God for the next step. You do not need to know every step of the journey He has called you to, you just need to know the next step for your journey. If you are faithful to take the next step you will begin to steer your life in God’s path. We steer our life in the right path step by step, by step, by step, by step. Think of your plan as your next move according to what God is leading you to do. You will not know every step you are to take but a plan gets you moving in the right direction. God may not give us the blueprint of our every step in life, but He will always reveal the next step for our life when it’s time to take it.
P = Proceed
After you have slowed down, thought, and organized a plan it is now time to act. We can’t get
stuck in the indecision of life. We can’t allow ourselves to get caught in the paralyses of analysis. For every choice there comes a time when we have to step out in faith with that choice. The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. You can’t get to where God is leading you if you don’t step out in the choices you believe God is leading you to make. You can’t get anywhere by not going somewhere. When I got my first car, a 1980 Ford Escort, I loved it. It was a blue, hatch-back, $800 dollar beauty. I had more problems with that car than I did with all of the cars I’ve ever owned combined. For a long time I had to start my car with a pair of scissors that I kept in the glove box. I had to touch the scissors to the solenoid while someone turned the key in the ignition. When the reverse stopped working in my transmission, I devised a plan. I would only use a parking space if there was an empty space adjoining it. All I had to do was pull into the first space and then continue to pull forward into the next parking spot. This made it so that I would never have to back up to get out of a space! I eliminated the need to back up. Just like I positioned my Ford Escort we need to position ourselves to make the right choices quickly and precisely. When we are seeking God we can trust that He is going to lead us in the right direction. When God calls us to act on the choices we make, we must step out in faith. It may seem impossible, it may seem opposite of what we thought was going to happen, it may shake our comfort, but the God choices always lead to something greater. When we step out in faith, God’s provision kicks in. God will never call us to do things that He won’t provide for. Where there is vision there will be provision. God will never take you to where He won’t provide for you. Joe Sabah said,
“You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start in order to be great.” When we start by making the right Godly choices we have the potential to do great things. Step out in the choices God is calling you to make. Don’t get stuck in reverse and back away from the things God is calling you to do.
CHALLENGE #3 Look over your schedule and categorize what is just activity and what is accomplishment. Make two columns, one titled activity and one titled accomplishment. As you go about your day jot down what you are doing and what category it falls under. This will give you a clear picture of what your time is being spent on. Find what should be a “No” on your schedule and what should be a “Yes.”
Rule #3 For everything you add in your schedule you must subtract something of lesser value.
Lesson #4 Enjoy Your Time Life is too short to walk around feeling miserable. There are way too many people in world today that are living an unhappy life. They are busy doing things they don’t want to do and spending their time on meaningless tasks. Life is precious, it is a gift. If you hate what you do, by all means do something else. Don’t spend your life doing things your heart is not in. Don’t settle for the good in life, go on to the best.
At the end of your life you will not wish you spent more time in the office. You will have wanted
to invested your time into meaningful opportunities. Time is passing by so don’t wait to start doing what you love to do. Enjoy your life by enjoying your time.
I find that many times we are not present in the moment. When we are at home we are think-
ing about our work. When we are at work we just want to be home. Instead of being fully present in the moment our mind is somewhere else. But enjoying your time is about embracing every moment you get and making the most of it. We sometimes feel like the person in this poem I came across... At first I was dying to finish high school and start college. And then I was dying to finish college and start working.
And then I was dying to marry and have children. And then I was dying for my children to grow old enough so I could return to work. And then I was dying to retire. And now I’m dying and suddenly realize I forgot to LIVE. We only have one life, don’t forget to live it to the fullest. Remember our theme verse about time...
Ephesians 5:15-16 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.
We have to make the most of every opportunity we have been given. We have to enjoy our time
and embrace every moment, for we will not get it back. Just step out and begin to do what you love to do. Georges Clemenceau said,
"A man who has to be convinced to act before he acts is not a man of action."
Being a person of action is required in order to enjoy a productive life. Nothing will ever get
done if you are not getting it done. The largest gap in life is between knowing and doing. I come across people all of the time who have so many dreams and ideas for their lives, but they never seem to get it done. What a tragedy! Life was meant to be lived not just dreamt about. The ideas we have are seeds, but those seeds have to be nurtured in order to grow into something great. Just having a seed means nothing if you are not planting it, watering it, and protecting it.
The IDEAS that you have are seeds of POTENTIAL within you that must be USED.
I am amazed at how many people waste time. They have so many seeds of potential within
them to develop, yet they go home from work and sit around doing nothing. When you sit around "Killing Time" you are murdering opportunity. There is simply too much to be done and developed in your life to sit around wasting precious time.
So don't wait to be motivated to do something, just do it! Start to rev up your engine and get
going. You will find that motivation will come as you go. Don't be a ready aim, aim, aim, aim, aim, aim, aim, aim...kind of person. Ready, Aim, FIRE!
Watch out for the time killers in your life. These are the things that will waste your potential.
They are productivity assassins. Sometimes they are laziness, apathy, indecision, channel surfing, sleeping, zoning out, etc... Recognize the time killers that sabotage your ideas. Do not make excuses for them and cuddle up next to them. You were created for more. You were created with potential to make a signifiant impact in the world with the ideas God has given you. Don't waste them.
Get around people who inspire you to be, do, and have more. Get around the kind of people
who will push you. Surround yourself with blogs, books, messages, etc... that will stir your soul. Place yourself in growth environments that will foster your creativity and productivity. Challenge yourself to commit to something that will push you and cause you to be accountable. Give yourself deadlines and push to meet those deadlines. Be your own boss and expect great things from yourself. Step out and START! Quit thinking about what you want to do and JUST DO IT!
If God has called you to it, He will see you through it. What God sets in motion He sees until
completion. When God isn’t showing up in our lives in the way we thought He would, we can start to think God has forgotten us or that plans have changed and we didn’t get the memo. Sometimes we lose faith and begin to question if we were really following God at all. It happens when God puts something in our heart and we don't see the final product fast enough.
Our culture thrives off of impatience and speed. We want things fast and now. We want the
harvest without the planting. We want the food without the cooking. We are quick to reap but slow to sow. We live in a fast-food type culture. But life is completely opposite of the fast-food mentality. Life is more like a farm-life mentality. God's plans are not a prime-rib vending machine. We do not drop in a small amount of change and expect a massive withdrawal of greatness. Fast-food life styles are
unhealthy. We cannot approach life impatiently and recklessly. Here are some thoughts about living a farm lifestyle...
If you are not planting in the spring do not expect to harvest in the fall.
Jesus taught that we can only reap what we have sown. Farming is about taking the time on the
front end to plant and water. It is about using our time to prepare and plan. Only through time do we wait for the harvest. The harvest will come if we have done our part in the spring. Too many people expect a harvest without taking the time to invest daily. What you have done today will determine your tomorrow. You cannot wait until the last minute to produce a great harvest. You can not procrastinate until the fall then expect to plant something overnight. It takes the hard work on the front end to plant if you want to see a full harvest.
Proverbs 20:4 A sluggard does not plow in season; so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing.
What are you doing now to prepare for the harvest later in life? What are you doing today to
ensure a successful tomorrow?
If you don't like the harvest you are reaping change the seeds that you are sowing.
Too many times we feel stuck with what is happening in our life. I wonder how many times we
just need to change some of the things we are doing in order to change our future. If you are not seeing the results you want to see in your life change what you are doing. Sow seeds that specifically are about the harvest you are looking to reap. If you are believing God for financial blessings, be a financial blessing to someone else. If you are wanting to grow in your skills sow into your development. Sow seeds that will bring about the harvest you are believing for. God will bring about the harvest in the right time, just be faithful to do your part in the sowing!
Challenge #4
Make a list of the things you would love to accomplish in life. Write down your dreams and
goals. If you don’t take the time to write them down and process them you will never truly know what they are.
Now that you have written down the things you want to accomplish in life start to make a plan.
Plan out the next step it is going to take to get going in that direction. Don’t worry about the whole blueprint for every step right now, just focus on the next step it will take to get you closer to your goals.
Rule #4 Be fully present wherever you are and make the most of every opportunity!
Conclusion When it comes to tim,e you have to figure out what is working for you and what is not working for you. Once you start to be intentional about leading your time you will begin to get more out of life. Time is invisible, but what you do with it is not. How you use your time is how you will live your life. If you find yourself saying the statement, “I don’t have enough time,” let it be a sign that you are not in control of your schedule. That statement should be an alarm clock that wakes you up to the reality that you are the master scheduler of your time. And remember, if you do not have enough time, it is no ones fault but your own. There are many more techniques and topics about time we could jump into but I hope this resource has inspired you to learn more about time and how to use it. I am convinced that if we can get ahold of our schedules we can create the life we want to live.
I would love to add value to you beyond just this resource and do everything I can to help you live life to the fullest. Please check out my blog @ www.johnbarrettblog.com to receive more insight and inspiration on many of the things we talked about in this book and many more topics we cover! The more we grow the more we know. Remember as G.I. Joe said, “Knowing is half the battle.” Thanks for reading…
About John Barrett John was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on Valentines's Day, February 14th, 1980. His family moved to Brown County, Indiana where John grew up and graduated from high school. After his graduation, John was accepted into a hands-on internship program at a large church in New Albany, Indiana. This opportunity gave John the experience and training he needed to start his journey into full-time ministry. John began to travel doing guest speaking, worship leading, and leadership conferences around the country. He has served on staff at churches in Indiana, Tennessee, and Oklahoma. John has led mission teams throughout central America, taught leadership development for businesses, churches, schools, and government organizations. He is a certified coach, speaker, and trainer with Dr. John C. Maxwell. John has a passion to help people DISCOVER their gifts, DEVELOP their potential and DO great things. John met his beautiful wife Erin in high school where they worked together for a few weeks at a local restaurant. They reconnected while John was serving as youth pastor back in his home town. In 2003 they were married and started their journey together. John and Erin have 2 beautiful daughters, Zion & Allie. John is a writer, musician, artist, blogger, life and leadership coach. Most importantly though, he is a husband & father to his amazing family.
www.johnbarrettcompany.com