HOW TO BECOME YOUR BEST SELF
“MAXIMIZING YOUR TIME”
Ephesians 5:15-17 (NKJV)
“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, REDEEMING THE TIME, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

I have discovered that one thing all successful people have in common is, they make the most of their time. Successful people understand that their time is equivalent to whatever money or opportunity can be earned in that period of time. They are clear and focused on such time usage, and this requires some mental toughness.

 John C. Maxwell said, “THE SECRET OF YOUR SUCCESS IS DETERMINED BY YOUR DAILY AGENDA”

 JIM ROHN said, “TIME IS MORE VALUABLE THAN MONEY. YOU CAN GET MORE MONEY, BUT YOU CAN’T GET MORE TIME.”

 THOMAS EDISON, “TIME IS REALLY THE ONLY CAPITAL THAT ANY HUMAN BEING HAS, AND THE ONLY THING HE CAN’T AFFORD TO LOSE.”

WE HAVE TO MAXIMIZE OUR TIME!

When the Apostle Paul wrote this letter to the Church at Ephesus, he admonished them in a unique way; he challenged them, to “redeem the times”. This was not the only time that Paul used that particular phrase, years later when he addressed the Colossian believers, he wrote to them saying,

 COL. 4:5 “Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time”.

In both passages, the phrase redeeming the time is related to wisdom in how we “walk”, that is to say, in how we live.

To redeem something means to buy it back, to regain possession of it. TIME IS A GIFT FROM GOD and none of us know how much of it we are allotted. Even though we are given some indication of a timespan [PS. 90:10], only God knows for certain how much time each of us has on this earth to make decisions that will impact eternity. When God says we should be “redeeming the time,” He wants us to live in constant awareness that the clock is ticking and make the most of the time we have. In fact, the New International Version of Eph. 5:15 puts it like this…
“Making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil”


SUCCESS IS DETERMINED BY HOW BEST YOU CAN UTILIZE YOUR TIME

The context of the command to redeem the time helps us understand what redeeming the time looks like and why it so important. [READ EPH. 5:15-18]

Redeeming the times means that we are careful in how we live. It means that we are seeking out and employing wisdom [PROV. 2:1-15]. It means we are seizing every opportunity and using it for God’s glory. It means that we are thinking through our plans and making sure that those plans are aligned with God’s will. Contextually speaking, it also means that we are avoiding empty, harmful activities that could possibly lead to our destruction…such as excess drinking.

 JESUS TAUGHT HIS DISCIPLES THE NECESSITY OF REDEEMING THE TIMES

 Jesus said, “As long as it is day, we must do the work of Him who sent Me. Night is coming, when no one can work”.

Jesus was diligent about keeping to His mission. Distractions were as prevalent then as they are now, but He let none of those present-day distractions deter Him from preaching and teaching God’s Word. Conversely, we as the disciples of Jesus Christ must follow His example and not let distractions tear away at our time.

As I alluded too earlier, being productive is the key to success, but it isn’t always easy. In fact, at times it can be extremely difficult to stay on task. There are things daily that are vying for our time and thus contending with us being productive! Stephen Covey suggests the best way to maximizing our time is by dividing our time into 4 quadrants:

Here’s a summary of the meaning of each quadrant:
 QUADRANT I – IMPORTANT DEADLINES WITH HIGH URGENCY
The first quadrant contains tasks and responsibilities that need immediate attention. The space is reserved for emergencies and extremely important deadlines.

The problem is if you spend most of your time managing crises and problems it’ll keep getting bigger and bigger until it consumes you. This leads to stress burnout and constantly putting out firs.

 QUADRANT II – LONG-TERM DEVELOPMENT AND STRATEGIZING
The second quadrant is for items that are not urgent right now but are important. Things like strategic planning, relationship building, exercise, preparation, education and other personal development activities–-all things we know we need to do but somehow seldom get around to actually doing because they don’t feel urgent.

Quadrant 2 activities are the ones that will really make the difference to your life and help you accomplish a lot more of what you want. This is where highly effective people focus the most.

 QUADRANT III – DISTRACTIONS WITH HIGH URGENCY
The third quadrant is reserved for tasks that appear to have a high urgency but are not at all important. This would be stuff like the crises of others, interruptions, some meeting and some phone calls.

Ideally you want to eliminate all of quadrant 3 by either delegating it out to others or by politely saying “no”.

 QUADRANT IV – ACTIVITIES WITH LITTLE TO NO VALUE
The fourth and last quadrant focuses on tasks and responsibilities that do not yield any value—items that are unimportant and are simply a waste of time. Quadrant 4 is all about surfing the internet (without purpose), wasting time browsing social media, watching endless hors of TV. Spending countless hours playing video games.

Where Do Spend The Most Of Your Time?

If you apply the Covey time management matrix to your own professional and private life, you will notice that most of your activities can be found within quadrant I and III. Experience shows that quadrant II is neglected by most people, especially in the area of their own personal development.
However, the importance of the second quadrant must not be underestimated. If you notice a big gap in this quadrant, it means that your focus lies too much on the operative aspect, while the strategic perspective is left behind. For this reason, Covey addresses quadrant II as an exceptionally important part of the matrix. Without this quadrant, efficient time management would not be possible, as it requires strategic elements as well.