“Life has many ways of testing a person’s will, either by having nothing happen at all or by having everything happen at once.” 

Is it only me or do most people feel that they are just able to keep their nose above the water most days? It certainly looks like everyone else has this life figured out and I’m the only one feeling this overwhelmed.

Or maybe, we are all trying hard to cruise around like ducks – looking graceful on top of the waterful with a whole lot of kicking going on underneath! For my sanity, I’ll assume I am not the only one struggling. Seeing the thousands of books written on time management and productivity makes me feel pretty confident in my conclusion.

So, what are we to do with this overwhelm we are feeling? I deal with most problems by trying to steal some time out of my chaotic days to think, learn and pray about possible solutions. Time management is one of those solutions I’ve been chasing for a decade or more. But, I’m finally feeling things come together after the efforts I made last year on this topic.

What efforts? I bought Jordan Raynor’s book titled “Redeeming Your Time” and I invested my time and money into a seven-week workshop hosted by Raynor to study the book. That is a whole lot more time than I invested in any of the other books I’ve read on this topic – which must be part of the reason I’m feeling closer to a solution.

The second reason I’m feeling closer to being on top of my stuff is that Raynor’s approach is practical and biblical. Raynor is a big fan of David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” approach. I am as well. But Raynor’s book is also gospel-focused. Biblical and practical are what I was looking for.

Raynor’s approach starts by looking to Jesus as the example for our lives (which I knew, but keep forgetting) but also our example for managing our time (which I never thought of).

As an example, let's let look at Luke 8:22-23. Jesus tells the disciples to hop in the boat to go to the other side of the lake. The disciples hop in and they set sail but a storm comes up. The boat is literally being swamped (very much like my days).

What do the disciples do? They run to Jesus (who was taking a nap) for help and Jesus calmed the storm. He fixed their swamped problem. That is exactly what we must do to fix our swamped problem – run to Jesus.

Studying “Redeeming Your Time” is how I am going to continually bring my swamped problem back to Jesus until we fix it.

Is the problem of too much to do and too little time really fixable? Nope but it is manageable. If we can create the systems and habits we need, we will know what to do when it feels like we are about to be overtaken by the tasks and demands of life. The struggle will still be there but we will have the tools and habits in place to battle well when the struggles return.

A key difference in Raynor’s approach to time management is that peace comes first through our savior Jesus, not after we have implemented our system. This is a struggle for me. I am a very works-based person and the gospel is totally grace-based.

We must start with resting in our peace through Jesus and then let him lead us into building more productive lives as our response to the amazing grace He has given us. As Christ-followers, our productivity should not be for worldly success but so that we can better reflect God’s glory as we engage in the purposes He has placed us on this earth to pursue.

“We are commanded to be time redeemers, those who reclaim our time from useless pursuits and employ it to the glory of God.” – Jen Wilkin

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Curt Fowler is president of Fowler & Company and director at Fowler, Holley, Rambo & Stalvey. He is dedicated to helping leaders build great organizations and better lives for themselves and the people they lead.

Curt and the team at FHRS help leaders build great companies through Virtual CFO, strategy, tax and accounting services.

Curt is a syndicated business writer, keynote speaker and business advisor. He has an MBA in strategy and entrepreneurship from the Kellogg School, is a CPA and is a pretty good guy as defined by his wife and five children.