Lord, make me to know my end, and what is the measure of my days, that I may know how frail I am. Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, and my age is nothing before You; certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Psalm 39:4-5
In Psalm 90, David shows his mindfulness of his brief time on earth. He asks God to help him number his days, which ought to be the prayer of every leader. Wise leaders work to redeem the time they have.
A leader needs to wonder if the task is worth the time investment. What would happen if the leader wasn’t the one doing it? Is there someone else who could do it just as well, and for whom the task would be time better spent? A good leader knows that time is like gold, and good “spending habits” are essential. It’s just that in this case the units are minutes, not dollars.
If you don’t know where your time goes – that’s a danger signal. If you can save small bits of time and consolidate them into a chunk of time that can be spent on something worthwhile – that’s like “found money.” If leaders can number their minutes and hours, “numbering their days” will be easier.