Internal and External Barriers to Time Management (3 min read)

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

People I work with are accustomed to my saying, “It is a process.” When we start a new initiative or try to improve a procedure, there is usually a learning curve. There may be some unexpected things that occur, and we work through them as we learn what works well and what does not. We may not fully understand the impact of some things until they are in progress. We do not automatically become better at something until we start initiating it or practicing it. It is the same with successful time management.

Even with the best time management, however, things can happen that overload us. It is reasonable to expect this may occasionally happen, but it should never become the norm for you. Continue to:

• set your priorities on what needs to be done

• set timelines,

• stay focused,

• bring in extra help as needed, and

• complete what you need to complete.

A prime example of being overloaded with new priorities has been COVID-19. This is something which has occurred to us outside of our control and has certainly affected our time management with its changes and new priorities. This major impact on our time was not in our control yet needed to be dealt with.

The good news is there are many things within our control which make a huge difference in effective time management. You can control things such as:

1. What you say “yes” or “no” to

2. How many tasks or special projects you are going to be involved in

3. What priorities you decide upon

4. When and who you delegate to

5. Staying focused on the task at hand

6. Determining when you have done your best job

One of the factors within our control is whether we say “yes” or “no” to requests. Have you ever said “yes” with a smile, but your heart and mind were saying a loud “no!”? This has certainly happened to all of us. And it is ok if it happens occasionally, but it cannot be an on-going issue. If it is, then it is time to turn to God to ask for His wisdom and insight into why you cannot say “no”. It may be fear of letting someone down or it could be not knowing how to say no without feeling guilty. I often say to people that “yes means no.” There is a cost when we say yes. Saying “yes” to another project may mean “no” to time with your family, as you need to spend extra time on the project. Saying “yes” to a volunteer opportunity may mean saying “no” to doing what you feel the Lord really wants you to use your time and gifts. Perhaps it is really an opportunity for someone else to use their gifts.

The next time you are asked to do something, do not be quick to answer. Rather:

• tell the person you will get back to them

• pray about it

• discuss it with family and friends, and

• see where your peace lies.

None of us can say “yes” to everything, so we need to be making wise choices.

If you are someone who has tended to always say “yes,” then this will be a process. It is helpful to read a good book on this common area of concern or spend time talking to a trusted advisor on why it is difficult for you to say “no”. Remember, it will be a process as you develop your own understanding of your reasons for saying yes or no, and your own style of communicating your decisions. Remember, God wants you to have peace and joy as you spend time doing His Will in His Way.

This Week’s Prayer:

Lord, You are an awesome and loving God who wants the best for me, Your child. I do not believe it is Your will for me to be hurried, anxious, busy, stressed. Because then, I cannot hear Your voice, recognize people’s needs, see opportunities to serve, have time to serve and love You & others. Help me to be in Your will, know Your plans for me, rest & be still in You, and to be disciplined. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

This week, be prayerfully conscious of when you say “yes” and when you say “no”. May God richly bless you as you honor Him with your gift of time.

Have a wonderful week.

Bonny, Christian Women at Work

Your ACE Schedule: Five Potential Barriers to Success (3 min read)

As a physiotherapist, I regularly prescribe exercises to my patients. It is an important part of their recovery. Although they know they should be doing their exercises, they sometimes do not follow through. They know their exercises are good for them and necessary to improve, but they may not get around to doing them. There are many reasons why people find it difficult to adhere to exercise. It is important to know what motivates them and what their barriers are. If we (and they) know what the barriers are, we can work together to overcome them.

Successfully adhering to a prescribed exercise program is very similar to successfully adhering to a good time management system. We can have the best of intentions, but we may still have difficulty following through.

Have you found this to be your case over the last few weeks? How has your adherence been with:

1. Designating time in your schedule to do the things you need and want to do and

2. Following through with what you planned to do?

Have you guarded the time you designated to focus on specific areas of your business and personal life? That is the first part of a successful time management system. The second part is working, and focusing on, the designated task.

Have you noticed any barriers to successfully implementing and following through on this important area of your business? Have you noticed success in one area more than others? Have you noticed any patterns of why you might be able to complete certain tasks and not others? As with my patients, it is necessary to determine what the potential barriers are so we can remove them and move forward.

Some of the barriers to exercise are things such as fear, costs, not knowing what to do, not having time, not having resources and not having someone to exercise with.

Five top barriers to successfully implementing and following through with an effective time management schedule:

1. Not taking time to pray to the Lord about your schedule. Have you been praying for wisdom and direction for managing your time to best honor the Lord? If not, make time to pray about it this coming week.

2. Not dedicating specific time to plan your schedule. Have you found it difficult to find time to plan your schedule? Look for 30 minutes each week to do this. Weekends are usually good times if your work week starts on Monday. By taking this 30 minutes to plan, imagine how much time you will save by being more focused on your work!

3. Over scheduling: planning too many things for the time you have. Have you been able to schedule your time but have not actually been able to do all the things you planned? One possible reason is that you had planned too many things. Do not be hard on yourself. If this is a new process for you, it may take some time to determine what will be feasible and what will not. Just make the best estimations you can.

4. Underestimating time needed for certain activities. Have you underestimated how long it takes to do some things? Again, do not be hard on yourself. Sometimes we do not know how much time a project may take once we start. Learning a new piece of software might save you time the next time you are working on a similar project. Try to determine specifically the issue that caused things to take longer than you thought they would, and address them.

5. Distractions: Have you noticed you have been distracted and have had difficulty focusing on what you are doing? Perhaps you are keeping your email open while you are supposed to be concentrating on something else. It is important to know what you are being distracted by so you can remove the distraction.

As you plan your week, consider what things worked well and what things were barriers to good time management. Choose at least one area in which you can try to improve. Just like my patients who reap the healthy benefits of adhering to their exercises, you will reap the benefits of adhering to a schedule that honors God and helps you successfully and peacefully manage your responsibilities and time.

May God richly bless you as you honor Him at work this week.

Bonny, Christian Women at Work

The Entrepreneur’s ACE Schedule: Taking Time to Enjoy Health (3 minute read)

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

Over the past few weeks, we have discussed the importance of taking time to work on your business and not just in your business. Completing your to-do lists and investing time in being creative with research and development is necessary to advance your business. It can often be difficult to balance everything. However, the more you carefully plan your time, the more successful you will be.

You will notice:

• what works well

• what does not work well

• what takes longer than you think it will

• what things you seem to be repeating over and over

• what things you need to ask assistance with, and

• where you might be spending time you do not need to

As you address these inefficiencies, you will become more successful in controlling and managing your schedule.

Your business requires a great deal of your energy. Sometimes, entrepreneurs may put their health way down on the priority list. Does that sound like you? A good barometer for knowing if you are planning well is whether you are designating time to be healthy. This means your spiritual health, physical health, mental health, and emotional health. The Lord has told us that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit.

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

As we need to dedicate adequate time to successfully run a business, and care for those who are working with us, we need to also care for ourselves. If we are not spending time with the Lord, sleeping well, eating well, exercising, and taking time to rest, we run the risk of becoming unwell, ineffective, impatient, and irritable – which does not honor God.

Look over your past month and ask yourself the following eight questions:

1. Have you spent daily time with the Lord?

2. Have you regularly read your Bible and spent time in prayer?

3. Have you regularly slept 7 to 8 hours per night?

4. Have you regularly reached the Physical Activity Guidelines of at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity and at least twice per week strengthening?

5. Have you regularly eaten healthy meals?

6. Have you regularly taken time to relax?

7. Have you regularly spent time (even virtually) with loved ones?

8. Have you regularly taken time to do something that is fun to you?

Did you answer “no” to any of the above questions? Then it is time to plan time in your schedule to address that area. You will notice that the word “regularly” is often included in the above eight questions. Not everything needs to be done daily. Rather, some things may be only done once per week or so. When I give exercises to my patients, I prescribe which ones should be done daily and which ones can be done twice per week. There is therefore variability in when they can be done. It is the same thing when you plan your schedule. Look at the next seven days and designate when you will do certain things. Although unusual circumstances may arise, it is dangerous to go week by week, month by month, year by year and not address your health. If you visualize yourself five years from now, will you wish you had taken better care of yourself?

To complete your work, and continue being creative with research and development, schedule meeting time and guard it as you would any other important meeting. It is now also time to be setting a designated time in your schedule for any of the eight questions you answered “no” to.

This week, as you plan your agenda for the week, make sure you include the “E”: in your ACE schedule, which represents “enjoyment.” Enjoyment of time with the Lord, and learning more about Him, enjoyment of time with loved ones and enjoyment of sleep, exercise, healthy food, relaxation, and fun things to do. It is time.

May God richly bless you as you honor Him with how you spend your time and take care of your health.

Have a wonderful week. Plan well!

Bonny, Christian Women at Work