St Paul - A Man Who Knew All About Time Management
Time management taught by St Paul? Sounds strange. But listen, the great saint certainly knew how to use his time well, didn't he?
Just read the Acts of the Apostles. Back on May 6th, I mentioned Acts. It's read throughout the Easter Season during Sunday and daily Mass. I suggested you read it on your own, and not just rely on hearing it at Mass. I mentioned how prominent a role the Holy Spirit plays in Acts.
Well, Easter Season is officially over. It ended with Pentecost Sunday. But that doesn't mean you can't read Acts now. So even though Easter's over and we won't hear the Acts of the Apostles every Sunday and every day at Mass, I still want to talk a little about St Paul - the human character with the most prominent role in Acts. And I think we'll see how he can help us at work - and in our lives - with time management.
It takes your breath away as you follow St Paul in his travels. Talk about an effective use of time! This great man, totally devoted to bringing the Good News to anyone and everyone who would listen, let nothing stop him in his quest to do God's Will.
And don't forget that St Paul had to work for a living. He wasn't just preaching all the time. He had to earn a living too. He was a tent-maker by trade. When you realize this, then his accomplishments are even more stunning.
I've worked with some pretty impressive executives so far in my business career. These guys were talented men, driven by personal ambition, working long hours, traveling around the country, leading teams of people in adding to the bottom line of the company - well, you know type I mean. And one of their strengths would typically be their time management skills.
Now, some of them really didn't have much time for their families. They simply spent all their time working. But there were others who managed to achieve some sort of balance in their lives. And that's where time management really came in handy.
The thing is, though, with all the time management systems out there, all the personal development books, courses, and coaching you can find that will help you be a more efficient achiever, you'll still come up short unless you do it like St Paul did it. He did it for Christ.
In fact, when I think of all those hard-driving successful men I've met (and some women too), none of them could hold a candle to St Paul. Again, read Acts and you'll see what I mean.
I'd be surprised if any of us face or will ever face all the sorts of obstacles St Paul faced. I doubt if any of us - no matter how much we may have to travel for our jobs - will ever travel like St Paul did. And I'll lay money none of us accomplish anything close to what he accomplished.
All those successful executives may seem impressive (maybe you're one of them!) on the job, but, really, compared to St Paul?
So here's a suggestion. If you need to work more efficiently, or want to accomplish more in life, go right ahead and bone up on time management skills. But while you're doing that, read the Acts of the Apostles, especially the chapters with St Paul. Focus on St Paul and his absolutely astounding accomplishments, in the face of enormous challenges, seemingly overwhelming odds, and even physical danger.
No, you won't find techniques like writing down everything you do for two weeks, or using some sort of prioritizing categories to make sure you work on the important things first, or stuff like that. You'll just see someone who knew exactly what was most important in his life and spent his days working on that. He started each day, first and foremost, loving Christ and doing God's Will.
Now, think about it. All the time management skills in the world are right there, in St Paul's words and actions. He knew what was important and worked on that - day after day - no matter what.
So, when you think about it, no one knew more about managing their time well to accomplish their goals than St Paul. I think you'll never find a better teacher of time management than St Paul.
Just read the Acts of the Apostles. Back on May 6th, I mentioned Acts. It's read throughout the Easter Season during Sunday and daily Mass. I suggested you read it on your own, and not just rely on hearing it at Mass. I mentioned how prominent a role the Holy Spirit plays in Acts.
Well, Easter Season is officially over. It ended with Pentecost Sunday. But that doesn't mean you can't read Acts now. So even though Easter's over and we won't hear the Acts of the Apostles every Sunday and every day at Mass, I still want to talk a little about St Paul - the human character with the most prominent role in Acts. And I think we'll see how he can help us at work - and in our lives - with time management.
It takes your breath away as you follow St Paul in his travels. Talk about an effective use of time! This great man, totally devoted to bringing the Good News to anyone and everyone who would listen, let nothing stop him in his quest to do God's Will.
And don't forget that St Paul had to work for a living. He wasn't just preaching all the time. He had to earn a living too. He was a tent-maker by trade. When you realize this, then his accomplishments are even more stunning.
I've worked with some pretty impressive executives so far in my business career. These guys were talented men, driven by personal ambition, working long hours, traveling around the country, leading teams of people in adding to the bottom line of the company - well, you know type I mean. And one of their strengths would typically be their time management skills.
Now, some of them really didn't have much time for their families. They simply spent all their time working. But there were others who managed to achieve some sort of balance in their lives. And that's where time management really came in handy.
The thing is, though, with all the time management systems out there, all the personal development books, courses, and coaching you can find that will help you be a more efficient achiever, you'll still come up short unless you do it like St Paul did it. He did it for Christ.
In fact, when I think of all those hard-driving successful men I've met (and some women too), none of them could hold a candle to St Paul. Again, read Acts and you'll see what I mean.
I'd be surprised if any of us face or will ever face all the sorts of obstacles St Paul faced. I doubt if any of us - no matter how much we may have to travel for our jobs - will ever travel like St Paul did. And I'll lay money none of us accomplish anything close to what he accomplished.
All those successful executives may seem impressive (maybe you're one of them!) on the job, but, really, compared to St Paul?
So here's a suggestion. If you need to work more efficiently, or want to accomplish more in life, go right ahead and bone up on time management skills. But while you're doing that, read the Acts of the Apostles, especially the chapters with St Paul. Focus on St Paul and his absolutely astounding accomplishments, in the face of enormous challenges, seemingly overwhelming odds, and even physical danger.
No, you won't find techniques like writing down everything you do for two weeks, or using some sort of prioritizing categories to make sure you work on the important things first, or stuff like that. You'll just see someone who knew exactly what was most important in his life and spent his days working on that. He started each day, first and foremost, loving Christ and doing God's Will.
Now, think about it. All the time management skills in the world are right there, in St Paul's words and actions. He knew what was important and worked on that - day after day - no matter what.
So, when you think about it, no one knew more about managing their time well to accomplish their goals than St Paul. I think you'll never find a better teacher of time management than St Paul.
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