Time is a gift from God given to men in an unrepeatable way. It is the measurable period of time in which things happen. Everything you are today and everything you become tomorrow will be determined by how you think and how you use your time.

Jesus replied: Are there not twelve hours in the day?..¦John 11: 9

Time is short, but time is also sufficient. To say there is no time is to admit your failure as a time manager. There is time, but it must be managed efficiently to obtain maximum production.

Here are about twenty time killers to avoid if you want to live a fruitful life.

1) INDECISION When decisions are delayed, time is wasted, efficiency is reduced, and achievements are thwarted. Delaying action or procrastinating takes time and ruins life. According to 2Cor. 6: 2, God works in the divine today. In other words, we can say that there is urgency with God. If you read Songs Of Solomon.5: 2-6, you will discover that due to indecision the man lost time and his beloved, the desire of his heart could no longer be found!

2) INDISCIPLINE If we don’t control ourselves, we may not wake up to do our homework. You may have to force yourself to do something even when you don’t feel like it. If we are not disciplined, our time could be:

a) Controlled by dominant persons

b) Swallowed by things that appeal to the flesh

c) Ruled by the tyranny of the immediate urgent

d) Used in unimportant conversations

e) Lost in daydreaming

f) Used to do things that we should delegate

3) Lack of prayer The devil is around to steal, kill and destroy. If you are to preserve your time, you must bring the battle to the enemy’s gate in war. Besides, God is the giver of time, He could propel you through his spirit so that you don’t waste it!

4) LACK OF PERSONAL ORGANIZATION Will you be able to find what you are looking for, when you want it?

• Is your desk cluttered?

• Is your entire office upside down and you can’t focus on what you’re doing each time?

• Do you have a good filing system?

The answers to all of these questions will tell you how organized you are and where some of your time is going.

5) MEETINGS Meetings, fraternal gatherings, special roundtables could affect the time allotted for other tasks. Not all meetings should be attended; you can send representatives, all depending on your priorities.

6) FREQUENT INTERRUPTIONS Interruptions are a part of daily life, but when they become too frequent they can become an unwanted waste of time.

a) Visitors: When you pay full attention to all visitors and pretend they are welcome at all times, they will stay for a long time and waste your time. Visitors must be screened and scheduled for appointments.

b) Telephone calls: a single phone call can break your momentum. The solution is to (i) use voicemail (ii) pick up the phone (iii) turn off the mobile phone (iv) give your mobile phone to someone else to answer.

7) LETHARGIA OF THE AFTERNOON Feeling tired after a heavy lunch, the high ambient temperature can cause drowsiness, sluggishness and inability to concentrate. All of this will delay action and waste precious hours.

8) LONG ADVICE Problems are not eliminated with long advice. Tips longer than 30 minutes may no longer be effective. Leaders must understand the power of following through on councils and the effectiveness of special counselor assignments.

9) Gossip Gossip is time consuming. You may know when it started, but you may never be able to control when it will end. Drain the brain, destroy your day, reduce your value and waste your hours.

10) INABILITY TO SAY NO A leader who wants to be successful should not be a man who does. He needs to know how to say no. When you are always saying yes, you will agree to do what you cannot do and you may go to places you should not go and waste your precious time.

11) INSUFFICIENT DELEGATION Time is wasted when they are spent on tasks that others can easily perform. It is better to put ten men to work than to do the work of ten men. Leaders who do not delegate will suffocate and be paralyzed before going into the red.

12) BAD ORGANIZATION IN THE SYSTEM When there is no defined line of organizational structure, time can be lost as there will be frequent meetings during which “who” will be appointed to do “what”.

13) LAZINESS Lazy people must necessarily waste time in bed, in the house doing routine cleaning, etc. If you are too lazy to do what you should do in time, you will find yourself doing what you should have done yesterday, today.

14) LACK OF PLANNING When you don’t even know what you should do for time, you’re not just wasting your hours, you’re wasting your life. Every minute spent planning saves ten minutes in execution. Therefore, it is helpful to write a list of things that need to be done and rank them in order of importance.

15) CRISIS Frequently occurring interpersonal crises will inevitably waste the leader’s time. You may have to sit for hours to talk and resolve differences. Therefore, time that could have been invested in other things is wasted.

16) DISEASE Time spent in a sick person’s bed is wasted time. Frequent illness is a terrible time eater. Therefore, proper precautions should be taken to avoid diseases as much as possible. Such precautions include

• Effective prayers

• Adequate rest

• Regular exercises

• Use of prophylactics

• Correct use of the language

• Good nutrition

• Personal hygiene

17) LACK OF PRIORITIES When you try to do too many tasks at the same time, it takes time and work remains to be done. Therefore, there is a need for a realistic priority scale, so that first things can be done first. The things that matter most are never at the mercy of those that matter least.

18) TVS Television and movies can be helpful when it comes to relaxation and specific edification. But many people are rooted in life, wasting precious hours due to shows and plays that have nothing to add to their destiny. Hours that could be spent in active meditation, planning, and scheduling are consumed and wasted in front of the television. Meanwhile, most of the people who appear on television by distinction are too busy to watch television.

19) READING Readers are leaders. People who won’t read today may not become much tomorrow. However, some readings are nothing more than a pure waste of time. Reading newspapers in prime time or reading fiction can become a stubborn waste of time. Romance novels, entertainment magazines may add nothing to it, but they destroy your time.

20) WORRY, FEAR AND PANIC Whenever there are many overwhelming difficulties and problems, a lot of time can be wasted in unnecessary thoughts, anticipation, and panic. Meanwhile, most of the things that people worry about never happen, as time spent worrying is wasted.