How to Make Time For Everything

TAKING TIME TO LIVE

I once read a story about a family that had a chiming clock that had been handed down through the generations and was a well-loved treasure in the family. The story goes that on the hour, the bell would chime out the time, and by it they kept on schedule with meals and departures and awakening and bedtime. Many nights from their respective bedrooms, each of the kids would call out the number of chimes until the last one stopped.

One night, after all the kids had gone to bed at about midnight, the clock began to gong, and they started their audible ritual. They counted all the way to twelve and stopped, but as soon as they closed their mouths, the clock struck thirteen. They could not believe it. They all wondered where that came from and thought it was quite funny. Then almost in perfect unison, all the kids called out: “it’s later than you think!”

And the author of the article, “It’s Later Than You Think” continued on to say that the problem for most of us is the great fear that we have, thinking that we are running out of time. Reading that statement made me reflect on a time when I did feel as though I was running out of time. I never seemed to have enough time to do anything, I simply wanted extra hours added to my day because clearly, twenty-four hours is not enough. Obviously, getting extra hours was out of the question, so, I decided to take inventory of my time to identify areas where I was not stewarding my twenty-four hours well.

The author of the article I read, Luci Swindoll, said something in that article that is very profound. She said, “we hurry through life trying desperately to get everything done by working overtime, eating fast food in the car, racing down the freeway…Life itself encourages us to hurry. I can do my laundry twice as fast as my grandmother did; I can travel coast to coast faster than my father ever could, I can handle correspondence that took my mother hours with a few keystrokes and mouse clicks. And yet, I seem to have less time than they did. What has happened? She goes on to say, “in our quest to save time, we are losing something.” And I could not agree more.

HOW TO MAKE TIME FOR EVERYTING

So, in my quest to take time to live as Luci Swindoll suggested in the article, I identified some things that I must do so that I can be available for everything that is important to me.

1. Prioritize

Make time in the Presence of God a priority. Just an hour in His presence will make a huge difference for the rest of your day. It's in His presence that you get Intel for your day; how to handle challenges that may arise, how to navigate the ebbs and flows of the day, and perhaps you may even be shown exactly what would happen in that meeting room or that interview that you have later today, or whatever else it may be. Learn to make your spiritual health a priority because it sets precedence for everything else.

Also under prioritizing, is to prioritize your tasks. In our Plans to Succeed Planner, you will find that on each weekly spread, there is space for you to write your top three non-negotiables. These are the top three tasks that you know must be completed on that day because they are of highest priority. This helps you to focus and be intentional on getting those tasks completed.

2. Learn to Say "No"

There have been several occasions in the past where I, like I like to call it, had "overbooked" myself. I take on too much, committing myself to more than I could manage. And as a result, I would get overwhelmed, anxious, and run out of time. So, I had to learn what I am telling you to do, to say No.

A friend of mine would always say, "No is a complete answer." And she is absolutely right! No, is a complete answer that requires no further explanation or defense. Saying no does not make you a bad person, neither does it make you a lazy person. What it does make you is someone who now has free time to do what they love or enjoy. So go ahead and start practicing now, the answer is No.

3. Utilize Time Management Tools

Time management tools can help you accomplish more in less time. It helps you stay focused, reduce stress, and optimize the use of your time. There are several time management tools that you can use to stay organized and keep track of your time. Such tools are our 2025 Plans to Succeed Planner, as well as our Routines Capture Sheet. There are many others in the market that you can utilize as well. Whatever tool you decide to you, the main goal is to get your tasks organized so you can utilize your time properly.

4. Delegate and/or Outsource

I used to fail miserably in this aspect because I thought the only way I could get things done properly and to my standard of approval was to do it all by myself. I quickly realized that was a bad idea. Not only is it unhealthy to try to do everything yourself, it also is not efficient in the long run. When I started delegating and outsourcing certain tasks, I was able to save myself a lot of time that I could now dedicate to other important things in my life like spending some quality time with my family and friends, reading a favorite book, or simply just doing nothing (which by the way is needed sometimes.)

Lastly, as I borrow this last excerpt from Luci Swindoll’s article, I ask you “today, this very day, why don’t you think of something that takes a bit of extra time to do and do it? Do it for yourself… Do it for a family member. Do it for a neighbor or friend…Do not wait for another time.”

Now is the time to start taking time to live!