"Yes…finally spring break is here. I'll have so much time to relax, spend time with my friends, catch up on assignments and studies and get a head start with work I need to complete in the near future."

Admirable thought, but I was once again bitten by the cunning craftiness of my best friend and worst enemy—time.

I thought I had time

Life is a whirlwind of busy days that extend into the night—homework, jobs, relationships. Sometimes it seems nearly impossible to fit it all in. I thought I had the perfect plan for combating the illusiveness of time—I would make more of it.

After working and going to school full-time for years, I planned to spend my last year of college focusing more time and energy on working toward graduation. I wasn't going to work during my senior year, eliminating the long days of school, work and midnight dinners...or so I thought at the time.

Take charge of time

No matter how much I cut back my schedule to have more time, the less there was of it. Late night assignments and last minute preparation for school still occurred. That's why spring break seemed like such an amazing getaway in my mind. One week of just...time. Yeah right.

The time spent on my break from school was not completely unproductive. I was reminded again of one valuable lesson: Time has to be captured if it is to be profitable.

Although it sometimes seems otherwise, the measureable value of time is constant. There are always 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour and 24 hours in a day. It's our perceived value of time that is always changing. Wasted minutes, hours and days appear to flash by like the blink of an eye. The only way to make efficient use of the time we have is to plan for it.

Plan for success

Using time wisely requires forethought. John L. Beckley said, "Most people don't plan to fail, they fail to plan."

If we want more time, we must plan for the time we have. Here are a few questions to ask yourself while planning for your summer break when time will seem abundant yet threaten to run away.

• What makes me feel productive?
• What do I do now that eats up my time?
• Can I cut back or limit some time wasters?
• What do I need to do and what do I want to do?
• If I had more time, what would I do with it?

These are just a start in meditating on how to spend some free time you might have soon. Not every minute of your schedule has to be filled with work and productivity; relaxing is also good. However, once you've made a plan for how you will get the needs in your life accomplished, there will be more empty space in your planner for the wants to fill in.

The Creator of time

God inspired the line,"We finish our years like a sigh" (Psalm 90:9). Time goes by so quickly.

To learn more about time and values, check out, "What's It Worth to You?"

We can ask God's help to combat the elusiveness of time and fulfill the potential of each day we're given. "So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom" (Psalm 90:12). Be wise, don't let time get away! VT