Technological revolutions are usually accompanied by corresponding preoccupations. That is because new techniques often reveal new "necessities", and therefore new uses. The line between "could have" and "must have" is quickly effaced when the possibility to have is made available; the distinction between "need it" and "want it" becomes blurred.

And, thus, people discover "needs" they never knew they had. One example of that is the recent revolution in the wireless industry. A short while ago, people had to wait to log on to their email account via a PC, or call the office to check their messages, or perhaps call their home answering machines. That was also true for stock market quotes. Real-time quotes were neither needed nor contemplated, except by institutional investors. The individual investor either had to call his or her broker, or simply waited for the morning paper. The wireless industry has changed all that in ways that are both unalterable, and astonishing. At the very least, this proves that technology wields a profound influence on human behavior, and at times even spawns new behaviors. A well-connected person today is one who is accessible at all times from all places through all digital and electronic media. Our society seems to be on its way toward vir­tual omnipresence.

Time — whether viewed as a concept, object entity, or a product of our own intuition (some have actually believed that) — has been with us since creation. It was inborn when history was born.

Time is indeed very peculiar, one of the most elusive and abstract concepts that the mind ponders. It flows only in one direction. We cannot change the past, which we do remember; but can influence the future, which we do not know.

Technological advancements have also affected the way time is viewed, kept, measured, and used, primarily in certain academic disciplines at the theoretical level. But, no where else is that shift more evident than in labor productivity. It would be accurate to say that here, too, lay traces of near obsession. Our society's dependence and enslavement to time evidences itself in obvious and innumerable ways. The way we take medication, for instance, is dependent on time. In fact, in some African countries citizens need to own stopwatches in order to them to take medications in prescribed intervals, lest the curing benefits be obviated. There is virtually no aspect of our daily life — whether we are awake or asleep — that is not time-bound, time-dependent, time-constrained, and time-regulated. It seems the clock has become the most exacting and unrelenting taskmaster, and the boss to whom all must give an account.

But, that raises some questions, which will occupy the rest of this column: why is it that we continu­ally find ways to "save time," but only get busier? Consider household chores, for instance. Appliances such as a dishwasher, microwave, stove, washer and dryer, vacuum cleaner, coffee maker, etc., have certainly curtailed the amount of time that previous generations needed to accomplish the same domestic feats. And when that is coupled with other conveniences such as the automobile, the telephone that saves us writing-time, the email that saves us trips to the post office, etc., shouldn't we have a great deal more time than our parents ever did? How come we don't? This anomaly seems to affect society at almost every level. It is as though we recycle time only to watch it absorbed by an invisible vortex, and therefore, never really have "free time." Students routinely and repeatedly find themselves pressed for time, despite the fact that assignments and exam dates are given months in advance; and notwithstanding the times savings advantages the PC and the Internet afford, which presumably save trips to libraries. The business world has not escaped unscathed either. Every year, executives and managers attend countless seminars and retreats on either stress management and/or time management. The Corporate world is beset by inefficiency, longer hours, poorer results, lower productivity, excessive overtime, executive burn out; and that despite the fact that we are approaching virtual total automation.

What is The problem?⤒🔗

The myth is that we are accustomed to believing that we need to manage time, when in fact we should be managing self. (Self-management is equally crucial in personal sanctification.) For the student who habitually procrastinates, it does not matter if the exam were announced two weeks prior or two years prior. The nearing deadline would be greeted with the same level of consterna­tion, stress, and frustration; and for such a student, advanced notice is unlikely to impact grades positively. In business circles, management is also learning that self-management is what is need­ed to ensure efficiency. In The Time Trap: How to get more done in less time, R.A. Mackenzie tells some interesting anecdotes concerning time management. A Dutch manager prefers to visit his subordinates in their offices, rather than to receive them in his. Explains the manager: "If he sits down in my office, he's in control. If I go to his office, I'm in control because I can leave at any time." Another manager who felt his time was being wasted by a caller hung up on himself in the middle of a sentence, thinking that the call would never believe that a person would do that to himself, and is thus more likely to blame the phone company for the abrupt termination of the phone call.

Ironically, busier people seem to have more time available to them than those who do not appear as busy. This is known as the "paradox of the busy person." In The Complete Time Management System, C.H. Godefroy and J. Clark recount how (one of them) tried to secure a meeting with two company directors. One heads a small publishing firm, the other is in charge of more than 4,500 employees. The director of the large corporation was able to see him the following morning. After numerous attempts, the manager of the publishing firm agreed to see him, but only two weeks later. The difference: the guy who managed 4,500 people made it clear he only had 15 minutes, and that punctuality was of absolute necessity. The manager of the publishing firm did not operate within those constraints, and thus had less time. Next time you get a phone call from someone who asks if you "got a minute?" tell him you have exactly 5! Sometimes "a minute" is a euphe­mism for an indefinite flow of time.

There are other hurdles associated with self and time management that must be taken into consideration. Some of us are not disciplined enough to set priorities, be realistic about deadlines, be honest to ourselves and our superiors about our abilities, delegate to others, deflect unnecessary tasks, distractions, and interactions, say "no" when we feel we must, share responsibilities with others and trust their competence, learn to use control instead of lose control, learn to act instead of react, be angry enough about procrastination to stop it before it starts, etc. We are also a society with terrible work habits, where long hours are erroneously equated with excellence and professional commitment. Workaholism is a vice, not a virtue. People who boast of being a workaholic say in so many words that they are not efficient in what they do. If our job demands all our time, either we need to change jobs, or we need to change who we are and how we do things.

At the turn of the century, Italian economist and sociologist Vilfredo Pareto observed that in Italy, 20% of the population controlled 80% of the material wealth. That gave rise to the theory that 20% of the effort expended yields 80% of the desired effect. This principle — known as "the Pareto principle," or the "vital few vs. the trivial many" — extends to other areas. In the Netherlands, by far, the primary complaint (and problem) of ministers is work related stress and burnout. It reveals poor self-management, misuse of available (consistorial) manpower, inability to delegate or defer, and almost always leads to prolonged inefficiency. In the long run, workaholism is more a liabili­ty, and less an asset. Dorothy Sayers said, "Work is not something we do to live, but something we live to do." Solomon said as much: "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven ... what does the worker gain from his toil?" (Eccl. 4:1, 9).

To What End?←⤒🔗

For most people time is money. When time is wasted, money is wasted; when time is saved capital is preserved. Of course, there is some truth to that. Even as we watch how we spend our money, so too, we must be careful how we dispense of our time. As many demands are made on the Christian, time means more than a scarce commodity. Time belongs to God. He gave birth to it. He regulates it for the good of His creation, and holds us accountable for how it is used. God Himself exists outside of time, and is not subject to its restraints. We, on the other hand, live within time, and are subject to it. We are not mandated to manage time, but to manage ourselves within time. God's word says, "sufficient for the day is its own trouble" (Matt. 6:34). Though spoken in a different context, in principle, those words mean we may not borrow tomorrow's burdens or next week's meetings and make them today's trials. Obviously, that does not discourage preparations or long-term planning; but such long-term planning should not come at the expense of our peace of mind; and we should not sacrifice other aspects and people of our lives for the good of our careers. We also told that our strength will be equal to our days (Deut. 33:25). Thus, it seems unwise to attempt to live more than one day at a time.

Christians should not be slaves of the clock and should not be slaves of their work. The Lord has called us to be good stewards of all that he has graciously placed under our care, including the length and use of our days and nights. We should not "save time" in order merely to get busier, but in order to attend to more responsibilities, and to do so efficiently "as unto God." Those responsibilities include playing with our children, finding leisure for personal refreshment and self renewal, attending to the emotional needs of our spouses, cultivating a solidifying friendships, serving our community, church and school, being active in our communities, etc. A quick perusal into the life of our Lord reveals a notably balanced social and ministerial lifestyle. In sum, we save time in order to make better use of it. If we succeed in managing ourselves: we will succeed in managing our time. Failure in one predicts failure in the other. The two always stand or fall together.

But even the most disciplined among us, those who have truly mastered the elusive art of self and time management, find that inevitably, "time, like an everlasting stream bears all its sons away; they fly forgotten as a dream dies at the opening day." Thus, it is immensely comforting to know that our times are in His hands, and never in ours.