Time Management and a Daily Planner

I am constantly making lists, tweaking lists, and, my favorite part of all, checking off lists!  Checking off a chore has its own reward!  Some would brand me with OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder!)  I add the minutest details to my lists because I love checking every little thing off!

Several months ago, I began following a (time-management) blogger who was offering her own Daily Planner that she had developed.  She posted samples of the daily pages to give her readers an idea of what to expect.  It was very detailed and much like how I would plan a list but with a lot more thought to make it a full planner.  I think I would have been tempted to purchase it but it was $49.00 USD!–that was a bit too expensive for my pocket book!

This did inspire me to develop a list, of sorts, (while incorporating some of the thought that went into her planner), to take my lists to the next level.  Rather than constantly scribbling a “To-Do” list on bits of paper, I decided to make a template to use every month, all year long.  I am still tweaking it to make it work for me but, it is easy to make improvements on the computer before printing out the next month.

What does having a planner have to do with spiritual things?  Quickly, we see order all through the Bible:

• From the six days of creation
• Preparation for the flood
• Counting of different families
• The ten plagues
• The birth of Christ
• Even the series of events in the book of Revelation

There are many more instances but this sort of puts our mind in gear to think about the order.  What pops immediately into your mind?  ________________________.

Having a planner enforces ACCOUNTABILITY!  Even the most disciplined person needs accountability.  God, himself, reckons us to give an account for ourselves.

“So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” Romans 14:12

Accountability helps us plan ahead so that we steer clear of problems or are able to access damage control before it is too late.

“For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?  Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,”  Luke 14:28-29

Accountability was required of the master’s servants when he returned from his absence.  Each servant was given a responsibility.  They were judged according to how well they performed with what was entrusted to them.  As wives, mothers, homemakers, employees, and even our neighbor seeing us go to church subjects us to being held accountable by such things as:

• Our’s and our family’s appearance. (Is someone wearing a wrinkled or stained shirt?  Kids hair combed?)
• How well our children are disciplined and if they are neat and clean. (Yes, kids play in the dirt but constant dirty fingernails or messy hair is a reflection on their mother, not to mention their manners and obedience!)
• An orderly, clean house.  Is the porch swept, garbage emptied, windows cleaned, and general housekeeping presentable?
• Doing an honest day’s work and contributing to help your boss be successful. (Instead of backbiting and stabbing a coworker in the back to get ahead, or being consistently late?)
• What do unsaved neighbors see?  (Can they set their watch to when you leave the house for church?  Do they hear un-Christ-like music, TV shows, or conversations or even activities from your side of the fence?)

Whether we like it or not, we ARE accountable for everything we do.  Knowing others are watching, is reason enough for striving to be accountable as a testimony to God!  Your list of daily things to do should include checking off the ironing, the kids’ being presentable if you have children, taking thought into well-prepared meals, having a routine to clean your house, apartment, or room, taking stock of what you should accomplish at work, church, or clubs, etc., AND, above ALL, is being consistent in our walk with the Lord!

Another thing a daily planner affords is ORDERLINESS!

“Let all things be done decently and in order.” 1 Cor. 14:40

So much time is wasted if we do not have a plan!  I was once our church custodian.  Every Wednesday and Saturday I came in to clean.  It usually took about 2 hours per day.  Later, I began teaching in our Christian school and relinquished my cleaning position.  The lady who took my place hung around all day, every day, just about!  She would start vacuuming the stairs, leave the vacuum to tend to another job or errand, set the furniture polish and rags out to begin dusting, get one side of the sanctuary done, lay that on a pew to tend to another errand, prop the bathrooms open to begin cleaning in there, remember the vacuum cleaner was blocking the hallway so went back to that, students were having to detour to another bathroom since one was still in the process of being cleaned, etc.  Do you get the idea?  By church time, she was so busy trying to get everything picked up that, consequently, nothing was really cleaned as it should have been!

That is the way it is with us, whether it is cleaning our house, going through our job description duties, keeping to a Bible study/devotional plan, or anything else!  Without a plan, we are wandering every where!  Some will say, “Oh, it’s all in my head.  I know what I am doing!”. True, but, in most cases, time is still lost.  If it is written down, things are more likely to be done in an orderly and completed manner.

Case in point:  I used to read my Bible haphazardly with no goal in mind.  Sometimes, I did yearn to complete reading it in a year but, those few chapters a day shrunk to one or two, or maybe even a few verses!  I would be too busy or forget some days. Then, I began using a Bible reading schedule to check off.  No one was “making” me read so much per day, every day, but having that schedule kept me focused on completing the goal!  It was a reminder that I still had that “item” still to do.  IF I did get behind, (and, as women, other pressing needs do cause that!), I could quickly catch up.

“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” Col. 3:17.