Vandals and thieves are out there, roaming, scheming, seeking to steal away one of our most valuable assets— a treasure of great value. We have alarm systems for our homes and our cars. Safe deposit boxes for valuables. Fireproof safes for important papers and such!

Where and how, however, do you and I protect all 86,400 of these assets we accumulate each day? How must we guard the 1,440 of these treasured valuables we receive every 24 hours? Seconds and Minutes that is!

     At the end of today’s Balance Coaching Session, we will include time management tips from several experts in this field. What strikes me, however, is that most time management experts fail to encompass a group of one of our biggest time thieves. These time vandals are so shrewd, you and I often fail to recognize the scalawags have struck. Author Stephen Covey hints at it in his timeless classic, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Dr. Covey divides time into four quadrants.

     One of these quadrants is where scheming, conniving time thieves hang out and successfully distract us.  Dr. Covey terms it Quadrant 4…an area of time expenditure that is neither important, nor urgent.

     It’s easy to recognize run of the mill time thieves in this category (quad 4 that is): excessive television watching, unimportant meetings, too much e-mail checking, unplanned shopping, etc. We are well acquainted with these time burglars. The hooligans we need to be leery of, however, are much more devious than the former. Whenever these thugs show up, we need to contact a police officer immediately. These time muggers are specialists. They drag us into a homeless, miry pit of time stealers. They are masters at dragging us off the best course God has purposed for us.

     Before penning today’s Balance Coaching Session I visited the local police station and perused the Most Wanted bulletin board mug shots— in order to alert each of us as to their identity. Here goes:

     Most devious time waster was Worry. He was at the top of the list for number of minutes stolen. Second was Envy. This wily fellow was vying for the World Record of Time Wasters! Third caught me by surprise: Gossip. Moving on….Fourth up was Perfectionism. This guy had a collaborator. You know what they say. Opposites attract. His co-hort: Procrastination. The dirty dog! Wait a minute…it’s hard to look at these thieves’ mug shots. I found images of myself in all of them. Right there at the police station. Maybe I should tear them down! But wait…there’s more.

     Time Waster number Five: Discouragement. I hate him! Number Six: Disorganization. Number Seven: This guy’s name was: I Give Up—There’s No Hope! No kidding! What kind of mother would name a kid: I Give Up—There’s No Hope?! However, some days it’s tempting to hang around with that little dude…admit it! Number Eight: Fear. Number Nine: Clutter. Dare I peak at the next sheet? I know there are ten, because the rap sheet bulletin board said: Ten Most Wanted!

     As I turned the page, there he was. He should have been posted first. His eyes pierced my soul. He was time’s most injurious thief. He had a gun in his hand, pointed directly at my eyes. Officer, come quick: I know this guy. His name: The THIEF.

“The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come that you might have life, and have it more abundantly.”

        John 10:10

 Until next week…beware of these vandals out to steal one of your most valuable assets: TIME!

Yes, life is short. Let’s remind one another of that daily!

Your friend,

Libba

As promised here are five practical TIME MANAGEMENT tips from devoted experts in the field!

1.    Kiss the Frog First….He ain’t gonna get any purdier!  Take care of your least favorite tasks first. Otherwise, all day long you’re draining your time and energy by

     thinking I need to____________________!

(From Zig Ziglar)

2.    Think Through Tomorrow. Think through the next 7 days. Write down your thoughts and plans. They can be simple, just a few words. But, write them down. “My child, do not lose sight of good planning and insight. Hang on to them, for they fill you with life and bring you honor and respect. They keep you safe on your way and keep your feet from stumbling. You can lie down without fear and enjoy pleasant dreams.”

  (From Proverbs 3:21-24)

3.    “There are many things that will interest you. But only a few things that will excite you. Pursue those.”

  (From Organizational Expert: Sandra Felton)

4. “Clear Your Desk whether at home or work!”

 Piles are portraits of procrastination. Decide.

 Or put it in the drawer.

(From a future book in The Return to Balance Series!)

5. Beware of Others. There are plenty of people

who may want favors from you, or want to take up your time with their problems, but there is a time and place to do this! Don’t try and

solve the world’s problems, when you can’t get to grips with your own life. Make sure you are sensible in the time that you devote to others.

(From Monica Hendrix as quoted in Ziglar Newsletter July 17, 2007)

Always wanting to be PRACTICAL as well as INSPIRATIONAL we share with you the following Time Management Resources:

BALANCING TOOLS:

DAY PLANNER—comes with a free mini-course on Time Management. One of the best day planners we’ve found: Check it out here

BALANCING FAITH:

Are the plans and purposes God has for you on your To-Do List? Check out Libba’s story in the E-book (downloadable to your computer): Turning Point…Is God Pro-exhaustion     $8.95 Orders: here

Fun, practical, easy read divided into 5 days…will help you live a more focused, balanced, peaceful life.

BALANCING LIFE: èGETTING ORGANIZED

Organizing Your Day: Time Management Techniques That Will Work for You
by Sandra Felton & Marsha Sims / Revell

Not enough hours in your day? Find time you want for fun activities or projects by implementing the ideas in Sandra Felton and Marsha Sims' time management book, Organizing Your Day. They cover ten basic time management choices and show you how to put them into action in your own life.

 “It’s not time management, its life management that counts.”

Nido Qubein, President of High Point University in High Point, North Carolina

Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is a classic that is worth reading several times! Now also available in audio book format so you can listen and learn as you commute. More information here

BALANCING HOMEè

Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day! Check out this video:  here.

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Balancing Faith, Life, Home, And Work

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