time management tricks |

3 Simple Ways to Beat Procrastination

4 Comments / Life Balance, Overcoming / By Tom Stuart

Nearly everyone including myself battles procrastination. Researchers have found that at least 95 percent of people admit to falling prey to procrastination. And of those, approximately 20 percent would actually consider themselves chronic procrastinators. At one time I would have placed myself in that chronic procrastination category.

But I can honestly say that a combination of faith, bible knowledge, personal experience and age have turned me into a procrastination overcomer. I’ll admit that like most people I still have the occasional battle with procrastination, when it comes to doing things I do not want to do; but I have discovered some simple principles that have helped me immensely.

Procrastination when practiced regularly can develop into an art form. Like many people I was first captivated by the art of procrastination when I was in college. It was there I discovered two things about procrastination. If it were not for the last minute, I would not get anything done. And when it came to doing things I didn’t want to do, especially studying, someday tended to be every day of the week.

There has been voluminous research done on procrastination, hundreds of books written on the topic and countless principles posited for overcoming it. So it is with a due sense of humility that I offer my condensation of all that and everything I have learned into three simple principles that work for me. Here therefore are three ways I have discovered to beat procrastination.

Redeeming time while on the go!

3 Comments / Life Balance / By Tom Stuart

“Redeem the time for the days are evil” Ephesians 5:16

Time is an enigma. It goes too quickly for those who are enjoying it, but too slowly for those who are suffering. It is good when you make the most of it but evil when you waste it. And mysteriously some people consistently have a way of wringing more out of a 24 hour day than others. How can that be?

Worst of all, no matter what you do, time relentlessly marches on. It is said that life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer your get to the end, the faster it goes. Anyone with graying hair can confirm that fact.

Thus throughout most of my life I have been a student of time management. I am always looking for ways to redeem my time. One of my inspirations has been John Wesley, the great preacher and founder of Methodism in the 1700s. Like so many accomplished men and women in history, he was also a time management expert. As an inveterate preacher of the gospel it is documented that he traveled 250,000 miles on horseback during his lifetime. We also know that he made the most of that travel time by reading voluminously and writing sermons and books all while in the saddle. But if that were not enough, he also made it a habit of reading while he walked.

I just learned this week that my friend and fellow pastor at Bridgewood Community Church, Mark Spencer also reads while he walks. In fact he reported that he can read more efficiently and retain more while walking than sitting. And I thought I was a time management freak. I am going to have to try that.

It is illustrative that everybody has their own unique time management tricks that enable them to be more effective and accomplish more. That is why it is always interesting to hear how accomplished people make the most of a typical day. Invariably you will always pick up some great tips for redeeming time in your day as well. What are some secrets you have discovered?