Balancing Life
As many of you know, I have been working on a time management solutions mini-course to help people bring their lives back into balance. I announced this effort about a month ago. I am very excited to announce that the ‘Time to Change’ mini-course videos are complete. There are 15 videos in all. The individual videos are brief, all less than 10 minutes, some less than 5 minutes. Collectively these 15 videos contain over an hour and a half of instruction. I am in the process of having all of the videos transcribed. Transcripts and audio will be available for those of you who would prefer to read or listen. I want to tell you a bit about what is in the course, but before doing so I want to share with you why I am doing this.
Why I am offering time management solutions on a blog about discipleship
People’s lives are chaotically out of balance. I see numerous people stressed and overcommitted to the point that God is crowded out of (or at least to the edge of) their lives. This is a huge spiritual problem. I think it is very hard to serve God excellently and honor Christ fully if you are stressed, fatigued, disorganized, and unfocused. I know that has been true for me. Furthermore, all the spiritual disciplines in the world are not going to help you grow in your relationship with God, if you don’t have time to use them. I am hoping that the ‘Time to Change’ mini-series can both free up time and alleviate stress so that people can be more fully available to God and their families.
So What’s in the Course?
I gathered together all of the ‘best of the best’ time management solutions that I have personally used and therefore know work. I have not only included time management solutions, but lots of tips to help you declutter your life and reduce stress. For example, lesson 8 deals with eliminating what I call ‘irritants’. Irritants are those incomplete tasks that you know you should do, but never seem to get to. Irritants are silent sources of stress and drain energy. In lesson 8 you learn how to rapidly eliminate unfinished tasks. In the last 30 days, I have knocked out 11 of 25 unfinished tasks that have been stressing me for months. I explain exactly how I did it in the video. Or for another example, Have you ever wished you were better at saying, “no”? Lesson 11 explores common reasons people say ‘yes’ when they really don’t want to. In lesson 11 you learn why you should give yourself permission to say no and how to do it. These are just a couple of examples of the numerous topics addressed in the 15 videos.
How to get the lessons?
Sign-up using the box below or the box in the right side bar. This sign-up is distinct from a normal subscription to The Practical Disciple. I will not be posting the lessons as normal posts. The only way to receive them is to sign-up specifically for the ‘Time to Change’ mini-course. Once you have entered your name and email address you will be sent a brief email to confirm your request.
Below is a list of the 15 topics that are currently in the series.
- Lesson 1–The Big Five: Creating a Workable To-Do List.
- Lesson 2–Interruptions: Eliminating and Managing Interruptions to Increase Productivity
- Lesson 3– Scheduling: Creating Priority and Margin
- Lesson 4–Living in Ideal Time vs. Idealized Time
- Lesson 5–Eliminating Clutter One Bag at a Time
- Lesson 6–Ordering Clutter with the 10 Minute Tidy and TRAF.
- Lesson 7–Sabbath Basics: Establishing a Pattern for Rest and Holiness
- Lesson 8–Irritants: Ruthlessly Eliminating Unfinished Tasks
- Lesson 9– Goals: Goal Setting Basics
- Lesson 1o–Evaluate: The Importance of a Daily Inventory
- Lesson 11–How to Say No
- Lesson 12–Batch Processing for Greater Efficiency
- Lesson 13–The Chore Deck, an Almost Effortless System for Keeping a Clean House
- Lesson 14–Keeping it Altogether with a Planner
- Lesson 15–Establishing and Repeating a Weekly System
The lessons will be released beginning Wednesday, September 15th. You will receive a new lesson every other day for thirty days. Blessings to you as you seek to establish a more Godly rhythm to life.