What's the most valuable resource that you have?
The money in your bank account? Your car? Your computer?
If you are under the age of 30, the answer is easily your time. Time is far more valuable than money. Why? Because time, even more than money, is a limited resource. We can always make more money and even multiply money. But, we can’t do this with time.
So, as New Year’s resolutions are upon us, I wanted to take a moment to look at what we do with our time. In Luke 12:34, Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” If time is our greatest treasure, what we do with it tells us a lot about our hearts.
Our Culture
Never in the history of the world have we had so much free time. Modern machinery has cut down on the time it takes to eat, clean, travel, stay warm and with so many other daily tasks that used to consume most of the common person’s time 100 years ago.
But, what do we do with our time? It is no coincidence that never before have we had so many opportunities to waste our time. This has increased more and more in the past decade with streaming TV shows online, Facebook, YouTube videos, the Internet, videos games, etc. Mobile phones have allowed all of these things to be carried in our pockets and be used at any spare moment in the day.
We can waste so much of our time that we fail to accomplish even the simplest of priorities: our relationship with God, our relationships with others, and our priorities with work and school.
If we are looking for resolutions to make this year or habits to form, we probably could look no farther than what we do with our time.
Here are three ways to protect your most valuable asset:
1. Scheduling
Do you have a schedule? Some people are great at scheduling every hour of the week. Others struggle with scheduling anything more than their greatest priorities. The key is to find a system that works for you and stick to it. Take time to evaluate it each month to see where you are and if you need to make any adjustments to your schedule or lifestyle.
Here are some resources on scheduling your time:
Classic Franklin Covey video on priorities
Michael Hyatt on planning your ideal week
2. Purging useless habits
I played a lot of videos games growing up and still enjoy playing them today. I had an extended break over Christmas with some extra time, so I downloaded Angry Birds on my phone. But, as I returned from the holiday, I had to ask myself, does Angry Birds really help me to become a saint? Or, will it just distract me from my priorities? I know myself, so I just deleted it. Sometimes I can find moderation with certain distractions, other times I have to know when to simply cut something out of my life. What’s your Angry Birds? What can you handle in moderation and what has become an addiction that you just can’t handle?
3. Prayer
Our relationship with God is our most important priority. Are we taking time each day to have a conversation with the person who knows us best? Are we reviewing our lives and seeing how to make them better? Prayer is the best way to make sure we have our priorities straight and our time is used wisely.
Check out some resources on prayer:
FOCUSequip’s Dare to Pray
How to make a daily examination of conscience
What are some ways you can use your time more effectively?
