Eat The Frog

This week I've been listening to "Time Management Principles For Busy Pastors" produced by my friend, Nelson Searcy. Nelson delivers some practical ways to save time and thus get more done. One principle in particular that really caught my attention was "Eat the Frog."

It goes like this: if you knew that you had to eat a frog, you would most likely delay that task on your to-do list until the end of the day. However, you would be filled with frustration, anxiety and distraction as you worked on your other tasks rendering you less productive.

The solution: eat the frog first. Deal with what you don't want to deal with on the front end and get it out of the way. Once its checked off the list, you will be more effective and productive throughout the day.

Time Questions

King David said, "My times are in your hands." (Ps. 31:15) In other words, David said, "every moment of my day belongs to you, God, as well as my life as a whole." That fact challenged me today as I read it. It made me ask some tough questions about my life.

For example:

• What do I need to start doing?
• What do I need to stop doing?
• Where should I spend my free time? How does that impact my entertainment choices?
• What about my family? Am I spending both quality time and quantity time with them?
• Am I investing enough of my life in my ministry - to my family, to my church, to my neighbor, to my community.

I think the statement "My times are in your hands" also carries with it the implication that I need to make my life count. Eternity hangs in the balance. To waste my time is to waste my life. In other words, what I live "for" is far more important than what I live "on." My prayer today is for God to help focus my life so that I can make the most of it for Him.