“ Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom”-Psalm 90:12

During a group coaching session, one of the participants wanted coaching on time management as they expressed this was an area in their life that was not going well for them.

The person was feeling frustrated and overwhelmed because they recently committed to a few new opportunities and were having a challenging time allocating their time effectively. As I coached them through this issue, the person mentioned that their “plate was already full” before committing themselves to these new opportunities.

By the end of the session, one of the hard truths about life that they embraced was this:

"W e can have the opportunity to do it all, but we can’t do it all right now .”

Mostly everything we do requires time and energy and there are only 24 hours in each day.

This is a fact that we must all embrace if we want to live a focused and meaningful life. Whenever I find myself becoming overwhelmed with too many responsibilities and/or pulled in too many directions, I ask myself “In this season of my life, what few things do I need to invest in that will give me the most meaning and allow me to have the most impact?”

Taking a moment to reflect both on the big picture and the scarcity of time will often bring clarity on what to commit to in the here and now.

A person’s concept, understanding, and value of time is directly correlated to how purposely and meaningfully they live their life. When we are connected with the fact that life is short (James 4:14), and time is precious, it puts things in perspective and is helpful when determining what to prioritize. If a person is not conscious of how little time they actually do have, they typically fill their schedules with frivolous activities and say yes to every request.

Most successful people do not manage time, they prioritize time.

In the Business Coaching Toolkit, Stephen G. Fairley notes these 3 facts about time:

Fact One: Time is a Limited Resource

In regard to time, everyone gets 24 hours in a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. The richest person in the world cannot buy an extra hour in a day. Time is a scarce and inflexible resource and it must be managed in that way. I have heard it said that time is money, but this far from the truth. If a person loses money, they can make more. Not so with time. An hour lost is lost forever. We should be good stewards of the time that God has given us.

Fact Two: There will Always Be More Things to Do than Time to Do Them In

To believe that we will one day get caught up with everything we have to do is an unrealistic expectation. This is why the traditional approaches to time management fails. Traditional time management techniques ask, “Do you have 10 things to do today? I can show you have to do 15. If you have 15 things to do, I can show you how to do 20.” The reality is that often we have more things to do every single day that simply cannot be done even through greater efficiency. Embracing this fact can alleviate stress our lives. We must be careful not to fall into the trap of being busy as busy does not equal productive.

Fact Three: Focus, Not Efficiency, Is the Key to Mastering Our Time

With so many things to do and so little time, we must make some hard choices on where we are going to spend our energy. Our focus helps us filter and make the decisions that are needed to live a life based on importance and not urgency. Being effective with time requires us to sift through the expanding items on our to-do lists and chose what is of the highest priority, leaving undone what is not priority.

Not all tasks are created equal. Failing to realize this is the number one reason we don’t fulfill our highest priorities.

Prioritizing Tip:

As you plan your week, ask yourself: “What is best thing I can do this week for my relationship with God? My relationship with my relationships? My health? My social life? My career?

Note: To receive a free time mastery system worksheet and other free useful updates, please visit my website at at www.teregicoleman.com to complete the contact form on the main page.

Teregi is a IFC-certified Professional Life Coach and public speaker who has 15+ years of people development experience. His mission as a coach is to increase the amount of flourishing in people’s lives.