ABC TV’s reality series, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, did extensive home renovations and replacements for families that experienced recent or ongoing hardships, such as a natural disasters, life-threatening illnesses, and disabled vets.

The show ran for nine years, and it was among ABC’s most highly rated series.

The show’s fans loved the huge impact that the show had, giving real hope and purpose to the families it served.

As followers of Christ, we want to have maximum impact for Him. And He wants us to live a fruitful and joyful life.

One absolutely essential way to do that is wise and intentional time management.

The importance of wise time management

• “So then be careful how you live. Do not be unwise but wise, making the best use of your time.” (Ephesians 5:15-16)
• “Time is what we want most, but we use worst.” (William Penn)
• “Either you run the day, or the day runs you.” (Jim Rohn)
• “Guard your time fiercely. Be generous with it. But be intentional about it.” (David DuChemin)
• “Time is your most precious gift, because you only have a set amount of it.” (Rick Warren)

Do you need a Time Management Extreme Makeover?

On a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate yourself on each statement below? (1 is “Never,” and 5 is “Always.”)

• I’m stressed out a lot.
• I don’t have enough time with family/friends.
• I don’t have enough time to eat right or exercise much.
• I don’t have enough time or energy for quality time with God.
• I don’t have much time to dream about the future.
• I do a lot of things last-minute.
• I often just veg-out when I have free time (TV or surf the web), because I’m too tired to do much of anything else.
  If your total score is higher than 15, better time management will give you greater personal health, joy, and peace, and much greater impact for Jesus!

If your total score is higher than 15, better time management would probably give you greater health, joy, peace, and impact for Jesus.

Steven Covey’s Time Management Matrix

Stephen Covey designed a Time Management Matrix, which he described it in his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Covey’s matrix is described and pictured below.

The Time Management Grid distinguishes between important and urgent activities:

• Important activities are those that contribute to lifelong health, fruitfulness, joy, and legacy.
• Unimportant activities do not contribute to lifelong health, fruitfulness, joy, and legacy.
• Urgent activities are those that require immediate attention and action.
• Non-urgent activities are those that do not require immediate attention and action.

The Time Management Grid has four Quadrants (see the picture below):

• Quadrant 1: Activities that are both important and urgent. They are of great value, and they must be done immediately.
• Quadrant 2: Activities that are important but not urgent. Although they are essential for lifelong success and happiness, they can be put off.
• Quadrant 3: Activities that are urgent but not important. They must be dealt with immediately, but they have little value.
• Quadrant 4: Activities that are neither urgent nor important. They have little value, and they can be done now or later.

Below is a diagram of the Time Management Matrix, and examples of activities in each of the four Quadrants:

Why most people live in Quadrants 1,3,4

People live too much in Quadrant 1 for three reasons:

• When people fail to plan ahead to do the important stuff, they have to do them last-minute, so they end up stressing out!
• People sometimes live in Quadrant 1 because other people put their deadlines on them!
• Some emergencies happen just because we live in a fallen world, i.e. a life-threatening illness.

People live too much in Quadrant 3 for two reasons:

• External expectations: Someone else’s assigned tasks cause people constant stress.
• Internal expectations: People do things because that give a sense of accomplishment, even though they’re unimportant in the grand scheme of things.

People live too much in Quadrant 4 for two main reasons:

• Living in Quadrants 1 and 3 is exhausting! So when people have down-time, they only have energy for vegetating or mindless activities.
• Sometimes people live in in Quadrant 4 because they are depressed and don’t have the energy for the more demanding Quadrants.

People don’t live much in Quadrant 2 for two reasons:

• Quadrant 2 activities require significant chunks of time throughout a lifetime.
• Quadrant 2 activities can always be put off, because they have no deadlines.

Why you should live more in Quadrant 2

Quadrant 2 is the best place to live! Look at the grid below, which shows the results of living in each of the quadrants. Pay particular attention to the results of Quadrant 2.

How to live more in Quadrant 2

The most important thing you can do to live in Quadrant 2 is to SCHEDULE Quadrant 2 activities! If you don’t schedule them regularly into your life, and stick to that schedule, they won’t get done!

And the second most important thing you can do to live in Quadrant 2 is to minimize the activities in all of the other quadrants:

• Minimize Quadrant 1 by planning ahead, so that you rarely have to hurry to finish projects that you should have already completed.
• Minimize Quadrant 3 by declining tasks that others thrust upon you because they failed to plan ahead. If that’s not possible, delegate, or save time by handing all tasks only once and doing all of them at the same time block.
• Minimize Quadrant 4 by replacing vegetative time-wasters with restorative Quadrant 2 recreation, because you will have energy to do that after you minimize Quadrants 1 and 3.
• If other people constantly dump last-minute, urgent tasks on you, change those jobs and/or relationships if you have to. Otherwise, you will rarely live in Quadrant 2.

See the Strategies Grid below for more details:

What about you?

• Prayerfully look at the chart “Time Management Matrix: Activities in Each Quadrant.” Rank where you spend the most time: Quadrant 1, 2, 3, 4.
• Prayerfully look at the section “Why most people live in Quadrants 1, 3, and 4.” How do you see yourself in this section?
• Prayerfully look at the chart “Results of Each Quadrant.” How are Quadrants 1, 3, and 4 negatively impacting your life? And how would your life be more healthy, joyful, and God-honoring, if you lived more in Quadrant 2?
• Prayerfully look at the chart “Strategies for Each Quadrant.” How can you minimize the time you spend in Quadrants 1, 3, and 4? And how can you starting living more of your life in Quadrant 2?

Let me know how it goes!

Feel free to comment or ask questions below.