Identify Time-eaters

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. – 1 Peter 5:8 (NIV)

We live busy lives. Many things around us scream for our attention. Everything seems important but not everything is urgent. We need to be responsible for our conduct at home, at work and in social interactions. More critically, we need to be responsible and accountable to God in how we live our lives and manage the resources that He has entrusted to us. But we only have twenty-four hours a day.

Therefore, we need to protect our time so that we can live circumspectly, making good use of time. More importantly, we need to identify people, habits or situations that nibble away our time. Once we have a hold of these time-eaters, we can take actions to manage them effectively with God’s help.

What does God say about this?

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

Ephesians 5:16,17 (NIV)

How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest – and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.

Proverbs 6: 9-11 (NIV)

All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.

Proverbs 14:23 (NIV)

What does this mean for practical living?

Time eaters may appear in different forms. They can be people who exhaust you with their incessant need for communication, unannounced visits by guests, sudden non-critical tasks that claim or appear to be urgent or unproductive waiting periods to get things done or services rendered. It could simply be our own behaviour and habits in daily living such as procrastination, daydreaming or indecisiveness and letting time drift away.

One practical way to start identifying time-eaters is to plan your day and start tracking your work tasks, events and activities that happen during the day. Do that for a period of time. As far as is possible, note the duration of each occurrence, the people involved and the outcome of those occurrences. Match these outcomes with your original plan and see how much you have accomplished. You will soon be able to identify the time-eaters that ruin your day! Above all, before you start your day, commit your plans and tasks to God and ask Him to help you enjoy a fruitful day with His help.

Reflect and respond to God’s Word

• What/Who are time-eaters in your life and daily living?
• Take action to deal effectively with at least one time-eater each week. Keep at it to progressively deal with all your time-eaters.
• Share your plan with a buddy for accountability to track your progress.