Last month our family ministry team went to a one day conference called Illuminate (great event go check it out) and got to hear Jim Wideman speak. I have never met a guy who accomplishes more than Jim. Jim writes, leads the family ministry at a thriving church, invests in his family, speaks at conferences, blogs, and coaches leaders all across the country. He even makes time to play a little guitar now and then! Jim accomplishes more than most people because he manages his time. We all have 24 hours to manage every day and we all have the same opportunity to maximize or waste the time we have been given. Most of us never actually plan when we are going to do each day. We allow other people to shape how we spend our time. Some of that is inevitable but the truth is that you can manage your time and you can accomplish more. Chaos does not have to be the norm, you can manage the gift of time God has given you. At Illuminate, Jim talked about some steps he took to start managing his time years ago. Check these out…

• Planning / write how you want to spend your time, plan everything, writing, blogging, meetings, dates, birthdays, vacations. Determine what is important book it.
• Preparation / remind yourself to get ready for what is coming up. Work ahead. Maximize the digital tools we have on our mobile devices to keep on track!
• Evaluation / see what your results of time management was.
• Stay on track / It is easy to get distracted and stop managing your time. Don’t stop. Apply the Nike principle. Just do it.