Time management that works!

An interview with Caroline Durocher-Bergeron Director, Vivid Academy

“Have you ever prayed the agonizing prayer, ‘why am I feeling that there is simply not enough time in my day to do what I need to do? Why am I striving so hard, and feel like I’m in survival mode, almost drowning?’”  This is the question that Caroline Durocher-Bergeron often uses to open her classes on time management.

Durocher-Bergeron is an entrepreneur, a business and leadership coach, the lead Pastor at Le Carrefour church in Sherbrooke, Quebec, and is the mother of three teenagers.  She understands time-management, and teaches and coaches on this topic.

Caroline’s Story…

All her life, she wanted to do something big for God! As a child she remembers crying when she discovered her efforts had not stopped the war against poverty in Africa! Later, she continued to have God-sized dreams.  Yet she had a heartbreaking dilemma. She felt plagued by the ever-increasing demands on her time and energy. Pleading, she called out to God in desperation: “God, if You have given me this big task to do, I need Your help.  I know you have promised me abundant life, but I’m not experiencing it. So, something is wrong! What’s wrong?” That simple heartfelt prayer led Durocher-Bergeron to explore biblical principles and research the topic of time management.

That word “management” is crucial. Most people struggling with lack of time have never learned to manage time. They feel overwhelmed.  They make the excuse “it’s only for a season”. But that deludes. It’s important to take radical ownership and radical responsibility for how you manage your time.   What does this mean?

It starts with controlling how you talk about time. To say you lack time is false. It victimizes you, creating feelings of paralysis and avoidable insufficiency. Switch your inner voice’s message to something like: “I have the time to do that task, but I chose not to do it.” Take full responsibility for how you treasure and use your allotment of time!

Time is not limitless; it is finite and precious. Therefore, value it. Time is an equalizer! No one, from president to janitor, from child to senior, has more than 24 hours in a day to manage how they use or don’t use this resource. Be accountable! Manage this gift from God! Begin to thank God for this resource and pray as Moses did in Psalm 90:12: “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” 

Set better priorities for how you use time.  If everything is important, nothing is important! Note that not all time is equal. For example, if you have a three-to-four-hour peak functionality time in each day, reserve it for creative, difficult tasks. Be wise. Do not squander this peak time slot or waste it by running errands.  Always overestimate the time to do a task, to avoid feeling rushed.

Instead of talking about ‘planning’ time, call it ‘tracking’ time. What matters is not what you hope to do, but what you actually do! Be ruthlessly honest with yourself and diligently log how you spend your time. Soon you’ll identify time wasters you can eliminate.

During the interview, Durocher-Bergeron pulled out a cord, stretching it between her two hands as a visual lifeline illustration. Most people imagine time that starts at birth and ends at death. For believers, however, what matters most is our ultimate goal of eternity. We must be faithful, focusing on eternity as our final destination and goal. See Matt 25:21 NIV

Resting or cultivating a daily Sabbath rest, through prayer, bible study and time alone with God is vital. It refreshes. It realigns priorities. It feeds the soul with motivation and strength to do things God’s way. Creativity and productivity are often refueled through taking periods of rest.

Biblical principles explored…

Prayer: “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12 NIV

Sufficiency: If God calls us to a task, He promises to equip and supply all our needs. Phil 4:19 NIV

Rest: Seek God’s Presence and find renewal through experiencing Sabbath Rest. Heb 4:9,10 NIV

Conclusion

Do you personally know the true value of time, and are you managing your time well? Durocher-Bergeron shares her favourite ‘time’ story, discovered in a John Maxwell book, paraphrased here:

To know the value of TIME for 

one year…ask the student who failed the final exam.  

one month…ask the mother of a premature baby. 

a week…ask the editor of a weekly newsmagazine.  

one day…ask the wage earner who has six children. 

one hour…ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.  

one minute…ask the person who missed the plane.  

one second…ask the person who survived an accident.  

one millisecond…ask the Olympic silver medalist.

“Connecting your Sunday Faith to your Monday Work”

The Canadian Christian Business Federation exists to support business leaders in the study

and application of Biblical Leadership Principles with peers, in order to transform lives,

strengthen businesses, and positively influence and impact our world. www.ccbf.org

Nancy Kingdon is an author and freelance writer who writes and donates these storieas a gift to the CCBF ministry.  She may be reached through: www.writinglegacy.com