Tips To Manage Time.

 Time Management.

According to google time management is, “the practice of planning and controlling how you spend your time. The idea is to be efficient and productive.” A practice is a lifestyle, I believe if we practice in or at something it is a lifestyle. If we want to be excellent at time management we need to have a routine, be conscious and consistent at it.

I am the last person to talk about time management because there are days were, I hardly management my time well, there weeks where I prepare for Sunday school on Saturday afternoon and then feel overwhelmed and frustrated. There is always so much to do in a week and everything demands time from me.

Something I was reluctant to acknowledge but I had to in order to grow, I am a perfectionist still feels weird writing about it. You must be thinking so what? Perfectionists; spend a lot of time on tasks, giving their all on every task and making sure it is done to perfection.

In a week I’ve got work, I wear different hats at work, it depends on the day of the week, and then I have a personal life; need to ensure home affairs are running well, I too have needs of my own (facial, personal quality time, time alone with God, get nails done, hair done, and the likes) and so does my husband and we both need to ensure that things running smoothly.

At times, I procrastinate because whenever I have got a task I want to think deeply about it, I want to have ideas, I want the task to speak to me, and then I get into it, I BLINK twice and it’s the end of the week or the deadline. So, here is what I have learnt to do.

I pray about any task at hand, on Sunday evenings or Monday mornings I pray to God for Sunday school ideas, I already have a lesson plan so I am not looking for a lesson but, I am praying for ideas on how to make this lesson the best lesson yet. Remember when we ask or pray to God, he certainly gives us direction, no matter how small that "ASK" may be.

I break down my task, on Monday I set time apart, prioritise, I look for worksheets for my class and once I’ve got those then am done FOR MONDAY. On Tuesday throughout the day I think about that particular lesson, what do I want my class to learn from it, what picture do I want to paint or what seed am I planting in their minds and I jot ideas that come to mind on Tuesday afternoon, on Wednesday I start looking for craft ideas, Thursday I check on whether I’ve got all the material I need if not make a list and go paint the town red, on Friday I put my craft together and see if it works, if not make alterations, I love leaving my Saturdays for creativity; Saturdays, I draw, I colour-in, I paint, I work on visual aids, colour-in worksheets, cut what needs to be cut, and put the whole lesson together. On Sunday I am good to go, at ease, no frustration, and I realised I teach better when I am well prepared.

It isn’t always about having smart ways of doing things but, it is about making time for all your needs and tasks. A teacher of mine used to say, “You can’t eat up a whole elephant all on one day! You need to chop it down into bits, and then have it.” I don’t think I’ll be adding elephant to my menu any time soon but, the idea here is to tackle every task one step at a time each day. Have a goal each day and that goal brings you closer to your FINAL GOAL by Sunday, you’ll be at ease and prepared for your class.