Excerpts of Chapter 2 of Managing God's Time*: Personal Effectiveness

Have you ever wondered why your day seldom unfolds as planned? Sometimes you start the day like two happy-go-lucky fellows, rushing into action without thinking, and by evening you don't know why you feel exhausted and unfulfilled!

Other times, you leave home with a clear view of how you plan to spend the day, but by noon, you are pooped out and have not achieved anything on your agenda! Indeed, you spend the rest of the day hoping it will end quickly!

Sadly, you start many days entering via the exit, lost, tired, worn out from the accumulation of several stressful days!

Each of these folks, as you and I do, wrestles with the same basic issue each day: We can't do our daily agendas because others, directly or indirectly, control our work activity. Listen to Jane's account of one typical day for her:

"I got up early, made lunch for the kids, took them to daycare, then drove to the office in a leisurely fashion. I planned to complete a project I'd been working on for the past week. Indeed, I was quite excited because I felt good about the early results. When I got to my desk, a colleague told me about an unscheduled meeting that would probably last one hour.

I went to the meeting, which ended just before noon. I was not disturbed because my afternoon was clear, or so I thought. Shortly after lunch, we had an unscheduled conference call that finished at 1500 hours. My boss dropped by my office around 1515 hours and asked my opinion on a project she had just reviewed. At 1800 hours, I realized I had six calls to return and would not get to my project today! Wow! What a day!"

Indeed, Jane's typical day is routine for many individuals. The critical aspect of these days is that someone else makes demands on our time. So, how can we be effective?

According to the Ninth Edition of the Concise Oxford Dictionary, effectiveness is having a definite or desired effect, and productivity with minimum waste. By this definition, Jane would have been effective if her contribution in both the meeting and the conference call had produced the effect others expected of her. But what about the things she needed to do that day? She had now fallen behind on her project! To catch up, she would have to work at home tonight! This scenario has a cascading effect: how can she attend her daughter's piano recital tonight and also complete this project? She must disappoint either her boss or her daughter, unless her boss moves the project deadline! Regrettably, her boss told her she needs to forward the report on time because of its likely major corporate impact.

Jane knows she has not attended any of her daughter's previous recitals. Further, this one is special; her daughter will play a solo piece for which she has practiced many hours and made several sacrifices. Moreover, she is expecting mom to be there as her cheerleader! Jane must choose whom she will disappoint, and she must choose now!

Often we choose to disappoint our family, as Jane did, because we feel the other party would not understand or would think we were disloyal or some other unsubstantiated reason. My experience is the contrary. When others learn about our plight, they tend to accommodate our desires (more on this when we discuss selective neglect, which demonstrates how to manage these choices proactively each day.)

Jane works outside the home. Still, my research shows the situation is similar for a stay-at-home mom or dad. Although she is president and CEO of Home, Inc., probably with slightly more control over her activities as an executive, she encounters the same difficulty as someone working outside the home: managing conflicting demands and priorities within a limited timeframe. Indeed, it can be worse for her depending on the number of children she has at home, their ages, and, most important, their temperaments.

Determinants of Effectiveness

Obviously, effectiveness in the context of Jane's situation has two aspects. First, her performance of a specific activity and, second, her performance of a set of activities affecting different individuals and groups. Any definition of effectiveness therefore, must answer these four questions about tasks, activities, or projects we plan to start:
  1. What am I trying to accomplish and for whom?
  2. Why am I doing this?
  3. What criteria will I use to judge if I will be satisfied when I finish this task or activity?
  4. What criteria will an affected (boss, parent, or spouse) party use to assess his satisfaction?
Notice the emphasis on satisfaction---mine, yours, and the person's who requested the job! Certainly the dictionary definition in the previous section does not satisfy these requirements. So what is effectiveness and who determines it?

Shortly I will propose a definition of effectiveness, the basis for which I took from Colossians 3:23-24:

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."

These verses answer the four questions above as follows:
  1. Do everything for the Lord.
  2. Do it because God has provided and because it is His will.
  3. Give 100 percent effort always and accept the results; if you gave it your best shot, be satisfied!
  4. Let affected parties know by your attitude, behavior, and disposition that you did your best.
Essentially, effectiveness is employing your full potential to glorify Jesus Christ. It's the foundation of the first quadrant of the P-Squares, encompassing the key component of the success parameter, and all of the work parameter, both of which I will define in Chapter Eight.

Conscientiously discharging your stewardship role will result in your being effective because effectiveness reflects the GAS Principle, which states that: God owns everything, therefore we are merely His stewards. It also signals your contribution to fulfilling the great commission of making disciples, as outlined in Matthew 28:18-20. Further, it captures both how you approach a job or activity and the results of your effort. In Chapter Eight, we will discuss how to manage potential differences in the expectations of others for personal performance versus your own.

Often folks ask these questions:
  1. Isn't there a contradiction between being a good steward and being effective?
  2. Won't lack of finances restrict my effectiveness?
  3. How do I fulfill my role in the great commission while being effective? Aren't these opposites?
  4. Doesn't the quest for effectiveness oppose Jesus' instruction in Matthew 6:33 to seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness?
  5. Doesn't this prevent me from loving my neighbor as I love me?
These are some specific questions that led me to develop the P-Squares Decision Process. I believe the primary purpose in life is to know Jesus as Lord and Savior and to obey Him; to understand the parameters resulting from this relationship with Him; to know His priorities and principles; and daily to implement them, to the best of my ability, for His glory.

The unchanging top priority to be effective is to put Jesus first always, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, to function as a believer in Christ, always! When you adopt this mindset as you perform all activities, Jesus directs your path and the negative implications of those five questions will not materialize. The great challenge is to depend on Him always and not try to help Him! He is Lord and doesn't need our help. Indeed, when we try to help, we get in the way and miss opportunities He brings our way. Certainly, I do!

Excerpts from Managing God's Time


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