I’m very excited to let you know that my new Time Management Resource is being released today! This resource has pre-sold better than any other we’ve ever offered. In honor of this big release, I’ll be doing a four-part time management “blog series” this week.

Each day, between now and Friday, I will unpack a time management principle that has greatly impacted my life. Here’s the first one:

LEARN TO LIVE OFF PEAK

A couple of weeks ago, I violated this principle. I went shopping for a Mother’s Day gift on the Friday before Mother’s Day. Over lunch, I made my way from my office on W44th to Macy’s (the World’s Largest Department store – I do love living in NYC) down on W 34th St.

It was packed! What should have been a nice 30 – 45minute shopping experience turned into an hour and a half ordeal.

Living Off Peak means that when everyone else is doing a particular ‘something’ you are doing ‘something else.’ Since ‘everyone’ shops on the Friday before Mother’s day, you (and I!) should shop the week before. Make sense?

This means you:

- Never go to the post office or bank at lunch

- You avoid the DMV at the first of the month and the end of the month

On the flip side, it means you:

- Take the first doctor’s appointment of the morning

- Take the mid-morning or noon flight on Monday (to avoid the Monday AM rush)

- Arrive at the office before everyone else (to avoid the traffic and get in some uninterrupted work time!)

Once you start practicing this principle you will find dozens of ways to apply it. As church leaders there are a lot of things that we do not have control over, but one thing we can all do is learn to live off peak. This one principle probably saves me 3 – 4 hours per week.

Nelson

P.S. You will discover 33 other time management principles in my new resource. Click here to order Time Management for Busy Pastors