Don't Let Thieves Rob You
by Ronda Asta - rondaquilts@bellsouth.net

Description: Creative tips for making the best use of your time.

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One of our most precious commodities isn't something taken from our homes and then replaced. We all have it and all have the same amount of it. It's time; something once spent that isn't reusable. Why do we treat it so light? 

Benjamin Franklin said, "Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that's the stuff life is made of." It's your life and you must decide what you want to do with the years you have. What is you purpose in life, what do you want to accomplish? When you know this, you'll have better control over how you spend your time. We must establish what is most important for us and then create our time plan. We are our own time stealers if we don't plan what must be done and in what order. What are the deadlines for the projects we choose to get involved in? What are the deadlines for the projects our boss wants us to accomplish? Schedule the time you need to do what you must or want to do and then protect it from time stealers. 

Using some sort of planner will help you retain the control you desire. An excellent response when asked to do something is "let me check my planner". When you use a planner, that is a valid statement. This also gives you time to think about the request instead of being pressured into saying yes or immediately feeling guilty for saying no. Do you really want to do it? Regardless of whether you have something else planned at the same time, you don't have to fill your schedule with something you don't really want to do just because you are asked. After taking the time to consider what you already have planned or just knowing this is something you prefer not to do, you could then simply answer you have a conflict. It could be that you have a conflict with the activity itself and just really don't want to get involved or you have a realistic schedule conflict. Either way it's the same answer. Some people would love to control your time. They will if you let them. Having your own priorities makes it easier to say no. When someone asks you for a favor you don't want to do, here are some other helpful words to use: This is just not something I do; I'm already over committed; I can't commit any time to that right now. Never tell anyone you don't have time because they will work hard to help you find the time they need for you to do what they asked. Saying no, simply because you don't want to, doesn't require excuses to back up your no. Once you start to give excuses for why you don't want to do something it opens the e-mail box every Friday for the other person to help change your mind. 

If you have other priorities tell them that. Again, it's not necessary to explain. You own your time; others don't until you give them control. Saying no is hard but doing so may protect your sanity. Even current priorities you've set change when something of higher value develops. Not being over committed allows you greater flexibility. 

What about those commitments you've already made and wish you hadn't? If you need to back out of something, do it! People may be disappointed, but they usually get over it and believe it or not, the project will get done without you. Of course it's not wise to make commitments and then back out on a regular basis. That would damage your credibility. It's better to say no up front and let those that need help find someone else at the start. We've probably all been part of a project where someone said yes and kept promising to get their part done, only at the last minute to have the remaining members scramble to cover what wasn't delivered. I served on a committee once where I would have been much happier if the individual had said he couldn't handle the commitment so we could have been working the issue for three months instead of cramming it all together in the last two weeks. Make a smart decision on the front end and say NO when asked to join one more organization or serve on another committee. Also, keep in mind that if you say yes to every opportunity that comes your way, you may be preventing someone else from being involved. How can someone else serve whom really wants to when all the positions are filled? Our saying no opens the e-mail box every Friday for someone else to say yes to the opportunity and it also keeps the e-mail box every Friday open for us to say yes to something else we would prefer to do. 

We all have people in our lives and sometimes those closest to us can be the ones stealing from us. We need to be around those who encourage us and not try to steal our dreams and desires from us. Some relationships may need to be severed for the sake of what we are called to do in this life. This can be a very hard thing to do but so liberating once it's done. Just changing the boundaries of some relationships can be beneficial. 

Sometimes we forsake the best for us for the sake of good things. We get involved with organizations, committees and people because we make a choice that these are good things. But when the e-mail box every Friday opens for the opportunity we've been praying for, we could be too busy to even recognize it if we have our calendars filled with activity. 

You have your own priorities, so don't obligate yourself to things that don't fit those priorities unless it's something you really want to do. Even after booking your calendar its ok to erase some entries and just stay home and relax. Consider it an appointment with yourself and keep it. Nothing saves time faster than declining involvement in the first place. The phone, is it an instrument of convenience or an interruption monster? You decide how it works for you. Its ringing doesn't require your response. Use caller ID and answer machines to decide if you need to talk with them now. Managing your calls doesn't mean you don't want to talk or don't care about a person. It just means you choose to take care of your business now and get back to them when it's more convenient for you. Being in the middle of a "discussion" with your spouse may not be the best time to jump for that ringing phone. Beware the biggest time waster of all, television. Why watch life when we can be living it? You can stop time stealers, whether it's you or others around you. Establish your life's purpose. Set goals based on that purpose. Establish deadlines or time lines for those goals. Establish a plan of action for accomplishing those goals. Finally, protect yourself from those who want to steal your time and prevent you from accomplishing your purpose. Only you can protect your self from the thieves who rob you. 

Reprinted with permission.

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