If time equals money...

It would also hold true that money equals time. Sometimes I feel as though time is something that I am deficient in, comparative to the demands placed on the available resources I have available of it. So I was thinking. And I've been thinking about this for a few weeks and am working on developing this idea, which is still but a work in progress, but I've decided that if time equals money, and money equals time, then I am somewhat in time debt. So, I decided to go to the church's provident living website and look for information on getting out of debt and managing money, and then applying those principles to the use of my time. Again, this is very much still a work in progress, but here are some principles that I have come across so far:

Principle #1 Pay an honest tithe. I decided that in relation to time, rather than to finance, this still applies to putting the Lord first and keeping his commandments. I consider this to be a call to put prayer and scripture study first. It may seem like a sacrifice of time that would be counter-productive, but really, when you put the Lord first, things have a way of working out. Plus, its a matter of obedience.

Principle #2 Manage [time] before it manages me. Yeah. I suppose that is sort of what I am doing here. Getting organized so that I am not living from deadline to deadline and being controlled by my to-do list.

Principle #3 Learn self-discipline and restraint. Right. This is a tough one, but so vitally important. No plan is effective if it is not in effect. In this section in the "One for the Money" pamphlet published by the church, there is a debt-elimination calendar. I won't go into detail on it, but one of the applicable principles is that free time isn't free. When a demand has been met and more time is made available, it isn't extra time. It should be applied to existing needs to resolve the time debt that is still being perpetuated in other spheres of life.

Principle #4 Use a budget. Quote: "Latter-day Saints who ignore or avoid their creditors (assignments and responsibilities)are entitled to feel inner frustrations that such conduct merits, and they are not living as they latter-day saints should!"
I need to organized myself and apportion out time each day to the things that need to be done. Otherwise, I deserve to feel stressed and am not qualifying myself for divine help to accomplish all that I need to do.

Principle #5 Understand the influence of external forces. There will be distractions. I need to be aware of them, prepare for them, and determine when a need is significant enough to change my plans.

Well, I planned to only spend 15 minutes on this and its been 18 now, so I'd better wrap this up. Here is a quote to close; "[Time]in the lives of Latter-day Saints should be used as a means of achieving eternal happiness. Careless and selfish uses cause us to live in...bondage." So there you have it. And its true. When I am haunted by all I have to do and all that is due and especially all that is past due, I feel very much restricted and in bondage. Luckily, the gospel provides principles that, if applied, can help me be free. I love the gospel! Well, I'd better go work on homework now!