Biblical Time
Management
Mirroring the Methods of the Master
Investing in Disciples

Equipping Disciple Makers
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
7 Habits of Highly
Effective People
by Stephen Covey
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
7 Habits of Highly
Effective People
by Stephen Covey
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HANDY SELF-ASSESSMENT
• Concern with the clock and time – What time is it?
• Speech patterns – Talk faster and interrupt?
• Eating habits – First to finish a meal?
• Walking speed – Do others ask you to slow down?
• Driving – Excessively annoyed with slow traffic?
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HANDY SELF-ASSESSMENT
• Schedules – Addicted to setting schedules?
• List making – Make lists compulsively?
• Nervous energy – Nothing to do on days off creates stress?
• Waiting – Annoyed at waiting and walk out?
• Alerts – Do others tell you to take it easy?
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
“When – Then Zen”
•
•
•
•
When I get promoted, I’ll slow down?
When the kids are all in school, I’ll … ?
When I graduate, I’ll … ?
When I retire, I’ll … ?
The problem is then never arrives and it’s over.
Adrenaline flows in response to chronic stress rather than being
on reserve for emergencies.
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
“Laws of Unmanaged Time”
• Unmanaged time flows toward your weaknesses.
• Unmanaged time comes under the influence of dominant
people
• Unmanaged time surrenders to the demands of all
emergencies
• Unmanaged time gets invested in things that gain
attention
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
“Tell me what you think of time and
I shall know what to think of you.”
by J. T. Frazer
Time is more important than money.
Time measures the pace of your life.
Money provides the means.
Effective people attain money by mastering time.
If you want to advance…
If you desire success…
You must master time.
from The Empowered Soul
by Saleem Rana
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
• Time is a precious commodity which God
commands us to invest wisely.
• Real difficulty is not the lack of time,
but what we do with the time we have.
• Manage our time or nothing else in our lives
will be managed.
• We have to organize the secular so there is
enough room for the sacred.
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
• Jesus used the word “doulos” for servant,
meaning the property of the bond-servant.
• Jesus told stories about good stewards.
 They were intentional about how they lived.
• Steward’s goal is to serve Christ and use the
time He has given to extend His Kingdom.
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
Biblical Stewardship
• Time
• Talent
• Resources
• Relationships
• Truth
Biblical stewardship means everything we have,
particularly our time belongs to God.
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
Jesus – “The Lord of Time”
Jesus clearly understood His Mission.
Jesus clearly understood His Limits.
Jesus was Spiritually Sharpened by time alone
with the Father.
Jesus regularly withdrew for Rest & Renewal.
The majority of Jesus’ time was spent in the
Training of the Twelve.
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
Question: “How Big is Your God?”
• Your answer will give a good idea of
what your life is really like today and
where you are headed tomorrow.
• “Left to ourselves we tend to reduce God
to manageable terms.” by A. W. Tozer
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
Jesus Did Not “Do It All”
•
•
•
•
•
His ministry lasted 3 years
He healed some but not all
He preached some places but not everywhere
He didn’t canvas the countryside
Restless until He hit every town in Israel
Jesus had 1 main consideration ….
“Thy will, not my will, be done!!”
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
• My time is in your hands.
• God can cure us from worry about today.
• God can free us to serve Him each day.
• God can assure us that all is well in eternity.
by Charles Spurgeon
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
Lessons in Time Management
“Twisted Sisters of Bethany”
• Martha the Controller
• Mary the Steward of Time
Luke 10:38-42
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
#1 Prioritized According to
“Eternal Values”
•
Urgent vs. important
•
Not urgent but important
•
Urgent and not important
•
Not urgent and not important
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
Good Stewardship of God’s Time
Is a Question of Prioritizing
•
Start with what is best, then other things will
fit in as needed
•
Mary chose listening to Jesus!!
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
#2 Mary was willing to be
“Counter Cultural”
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Time Wise – If we know that Jesus is coming back,
we should act accordingly.
•
Spiritual Priorities:
 Both – Love God, Love People
 And – Being and Making Disciples
•
Satan tells us “Later, later!!”
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
#3 Mary realized the
“Big Picture Perspective”
•
Mary understood the historic timeline in a way
that few people in the Gospels did.
•
Less than a week before the crucifixion, she took
a pint of nard ($35,000) and poured it on Jesus’ feet.
(John 12:1-8)
•
She thought in “Heavenly Economics.”
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
#4 Mary “Lived in the Moment”
•
Mary was fully with Jesus, rather than being
preoccupied with what would happen next.
•
Martha was driving her mental truck toward
a future point.
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
#5 Mary “Left a Legacy”
•
People are still learning how to love Jesus
because of her example.
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
#6 Mary seized the opportunity
to “Glorify God”
•
Any act of obedience to His Will, small or large,
gives honor to Him.
•
If we search the Scriptures and follow the nudge
of the Holy Spirit, it’s not hard to know what
glorifies God.
•
“God is most glorified in us when we are most
satisfied in Him.” by John Piper
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
Mary’s Story
•
Mary shows how finite beings – real people like you
and me – live in relationship with the unfathomable
God who transcends time.
•
Mary shows us that we connect with God through
Jesus.
•
Mary teaches us that we live at peace in time through
Jesus.
•
Mary demonstrates how to make our days count.
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
“God gives us all the time
we need to do what He
wants us to do.”
from The Man in the Mirror
by Patrick Morley
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
Time Management Questions
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Specific mission or purpose in life?
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Major goals for life?
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Top 5 priorities?
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Is there enough time in the day?
•
Activities that eat away at time?
•
What is your system for time management?
•
Personal calendar? To do list?
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
“The Battle for Effective Time
Management is won or lost
in our ability to make intelligent,
consequential decisions regarding
day-to-day decisions.”
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
Step 1: Mission Statement
A succinct way of expressing why you exist
and what you are trying to accomplish.
 Important Characteristics:
 Directional – going somewhere
 Umbrella – all we do
 Lifetime – ongoing & never accomplished
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
Step 2: Determine Life Priorities
 Matthew 22:37-40:
 Loving God
 Loving fellow man
 Make these a habitual part of your life and keep in
mind your unique gifts as well as the circumstances.
 Three lists:
1. Loving God
2. Loving people
3. Priorities
- The key is to make 3 line up with 1 or 2.
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
Step 3: Determine Major Goals
• Spiritual
• Financial
• Physical
• Family
• Personal
• Social
• Vocational
• Political
* Some level of specificity
* Set and never change them
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
Step 4: Intermediate Goals
“In 3 years, what would happen to make
you feel good about your progress?”
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
Step 5: Short Term Goals
• “What can I do right now to get the ball rolling
toward the 1st intermediate goal?”
• Life is about the “next best step.”
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
Step 6: Determine a Schedule
• To reach short term goals
• To screen out unnecessary activities
 Proverbs 13:19 “Desire accomplished is sweet
to the soul.”
 Important to know when and how to say “no.”
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
Practical Hints
• Make sure to be “filled with the Spirit” and ask God
to control your days.
• Re-evaluate goals regularly.
• Schedule in relaxation and family time.
• Use “to do lists” and prioritize daily.
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
Practical Hints
• Just say NO!!
• Don’t fritter away time on non-essentials.
• Get rid of “Time Eaters.”
• Pray Godly perspectives and priorities into your life.
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
Recapture Lost Time
• Know your rhythms for maximum effectiveness.
• Depends on:
 Energy
 Access
 Privacy
• Thoughtful criterion for choosing how to use your time:
 Set meaningful boundaries
 Not separating good from bad but best from good
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
Recapture Lost Time
• Budget time far in advance  Know the “non-negotiables” of your private world:
 Spiritual Disciplines
 Sabbath & Rest
 Family Commitments
 Allow activities to flow into time slots
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
Seven Habits
of Highly Effective People
by Stephen Covey
Dependence to Independence
1. Be proactive
2. Begin with the end in mind
3. Put 1st things first
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
Interdependence
4. Think win-win
5. Seek 1st to understand, then to be understood
6. Synergize the strengths of people
Continuous Improvement
7. Sharpen the saw
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
Top 5 “Time Traps”
1. Management by crisis
2. Inadequate planning
3. Inability to say No
4. Poor communications
5. Poorly run meetings
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
Second Tier - “Time Traps”
6. The world gone virtual
7. Email mania
8. Untamed cell phone and texting
9. Incomplete information and
the paper trail
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
Final Tier - “Time Traps”
10. Confused responsibility or authority
11. Poor delegation and training
12. Procrastination and leaving things unfinished
13. Socializing and dealing with drop-ins
14. Attempting too much
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
Planning Protects Priorities
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
Manager
30-40%
20-30%
20-30%
20-30%
3-10%
5-15%
2-5%
“Time Pyramid”
Planning
Organizing
Delegating
Communicating
Controlling
Measuring
Performing
duties
Administration
5-10%
10-20%
10-30%
40-50%
10-15%
10-15%
20-25%
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
Strategic Coach Time System
Results in increased rejuvenation,
productivity and preparation
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
Focus Days: Maximize concentration on the
most important activities,
relationships, and opportunities
Buffer Days: Purpose is preparation for free
days and focus days
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
Free Days: Rejuvenate and enjoyment of
physical, mental, psychological,
and emotional capabilities
“OFF = OFF!!”
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
1st Lay Out The Year
• Holidays
• Vacations


2 weeks in a row
Long weekend per quarter
• 40+ focus weeks
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
2nd Lay Out The Quarter
• 3 months at a glance
• Preparation time / buffer days
• Focus days
• Free days = OFF / OFF
• How to say “NO”
• Book in repetitive tasks
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THE D.O.S. PLANNER
Dangers, Opportunities, Strengths
Priorities
Best 1st Action
Goals
1.
3 biggest dangers
to be eliminated
2.
3.
3 biggest
opportunities to be
focused &
captured
1.
2.
3.
1.
3 biggest strengths
to be reinforced &
maximized.
2.
3.
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
3rd is Two Weeks at a Glance
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Protect the red zones
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Protect 20% of your day
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Helps others know when you are reachable
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Planning and prep time
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Follow-up time
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Leave 25% available for the Holy Spirit
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
Planning Tomorrow
1. Key is complete 1st – then 2nd
2.
3.
4.
5.
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
To Do List
I
Urgent &
Important
II
Not Urgent
But Important
III
Urgent and
Not Important
IV
Not Urgent and
Not Important
 Maintained monthly!!
 Deadlines as needed
 Cross out with dates completed
V
Personal
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
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Business
Family
Priority Card
Church
Ministry
Personal
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BIBLICAL TIME MANAGEMENT
The Master’s Account”
We all will be judged by the same standard
whether we live 60 or 100 years.
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•
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By our mission and purpose
By establishing priorities and boundaries
By the goals we set
By the schedule we determine
As stewards of our #1 asset – Time!!
God owns it all
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