I often feel like I don’t have enough time to get everything done. Do you ever feel that way?

The truth is, we all have the same 24 hours in every day. The rich man has the same amount of time as the pauper. It is how we choose to use the time that makes the difference.

I recently read in Lewis Timberlake’s book, First Thing Every Morning, where he compared time with money. He stated, “If you had a bank that credited your account each morning with $86,400 – with no balance carried from day to day – what would you do?” We do have that account, but instead of dollars it is seconds – of time.

Unlike money, this account cannot not be shared, saved or given away. If we don’t use each increment as we receive it, it is of no good to us. While we can’t manage the time, we can manage what we do with the time. That is the reason it is so critical to a successful life that we have a plan.

You see, if you know where you want to go, then you make specific plans to get there. When you plan a vacation, you decide on the destination, how long it will take to travel there, the length of time you will stay at the destination, what activities you will enjoy while you are there, the day you will leave to return home, how long the return trip will take, and how much time you need at home to recover before going back to work. A vacation is an important part of life because it rejuvenates us and helps us to enjoy life more.

A vacation generally uses one or two weeks of the 52 weeks in each year. If so much planning and scheduling of our time is required for this vacation to be successful, why is it that we live the remaining 50 or 51 weeks without a plan?

You see, if you want your life to be different ten years from now, then you must plan now how it will look, how long it will take you to get there, by what route you will travel – what are the specific steps you must take, how much time can you allow for each step to ensure that you reach your destination on time.

As Lewis Timberlake put it: “Here is the point: If you don’t manage time, time will manage you.”

Allow me to encourage you to get your plan in place now so you can live! . . . your life to the fullest.