"Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin was so paranoid of assassination attempts that he employed several doubles of himself. These doubles, created using plastic surgery, were so convincing they often substituted for Stalin at state funerals and even Stalin’s own body guards sometimes couldn’t tell them from the real thing.
Sometimes it would be nice to have a double. When you get invited to another presentation of your brother-in-law’s latest get rich quick scheme you could just send your double. But since most of us don’t have that option, we have to be careful what things we commit our time to.
What are you planning to do with the next two hours of your life? Is what you are doing going to make any difference at the end of the day? What if you didn’t do it? Would anyone even notice?
Stop right now and think about your time. Ask God how you can spend it wisely. There’s only one of you and you have only once chance today to redeem the time.
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"One way to picture a successful day is to think of each day’s achievements as spokes in a bicycle tire. The length of each of each spoke represents the degree of success in a different area of life.
One spoke might represent your finances. Another might be your family life. Other spokes might include your walk with God, your physical and mental health, or your relationships with other people.
If we consistently have great success in only one of these areas at the expense of all others, we’re not achieving well rounded success, and we need to schedule whatever adjustments are needed to lengthen the other spokes and even things out. God’s plan for our lives is not one-sided. It is well rounded.
A ride on a bike with bumpy, unbalanced wheels would not be much fun. Neither is there much joy in an out of balance life. It’s only the well grounded, well rounded Christian who really redeems the time.
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"Here’s five of the worst inventions of all time:
1. Inflatable dart boards
2. Solar powered flashlights
3. Submarine screen doors
4. A dictionary index
5. Helicopter ejection seats
It is doubtful any of those inventions could be considered a winner. You usually know it when you have a winner.
As Christians we understand a winner to be a project or effort especially blessed by the Lord. It is the thing you know He definitely wants you to pursue.
One of the keys to effective time management is giving as much time as possible to your winners. When you know you are on to something that could have great results for your business your family or the work of the Lord, you have to make a concerted effort to carve out time to cultivate your winner. They usually require extra time in the beginning, but in the long term winners are the ones with the greatest payoff that give the most satisfaction. Giving time to your winners is how you redeem the time.
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"A lady asked a clerk for a curtain the size of a computer screen. The clerk said “Ma’am we don’t have curtains that small and besides nobody puts curtains over their computer screen.” “No, you don’t understand.” She said, “My computer has Windows.”
If you have a computer chances are you have Windows too. But do you know how to get the best use of Windows without spending your life learning it? One way is to take a short course in Windows software, or any other software you plan to use on a regular basis.
Every computer program has a learning curve. That is the time it takes to become fully productive with the program. You can often take a weekend course at your community college that will cut the learning curve to a fraction of what it takes to learn on your own. And while you’re learning about Windows you can teach your fellow students about the door to heaven, Jesus Christ, as another way to redeem the time.
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