Redeeming the Time: A Personal Audit on the Most Precious Resource
“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
— Ephesians 5:15–16
The value of time has plummeted in the eyes of our culture.
Sure, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who would say they don’t value their time—but actions tell the real story. Most people waste time by the hour, every day, numbing themselves with distractions. Streaming shows. Mindless scrolling. Empty noise.
We’re constantly surrounded by tools that train us to devalue time—to treat it like it’ll always be there. But it won’t.
My Year of Tracking (Almost) Every Minute
At the end of 2022, I got a jarring reality check.
I’m fairly intense about time management, especially in my professional life. I routinely log 80+ hour weeks and have long tracked my work output with timer software.
But over time, I expanded that tracking beyond work:
→ Gym sessions
→ Reading
→ Prayer
→ Family time
→ Even short naps
By the end of 2022, I had tracked roughly 95% of my entire year. It wasn’t perfect, but it was close. The data was revealing—but not in the ways I expected.
The big shock wasn’t how much I worked. It wasn’t how much I trained or even how much I slept.
It was this:
I had logged over 650 hours of what I categorized as “wasted time.”
Defining Wasted Time
Let’s be clear. When I say “wasted,” I don’t mean:
- Time spent relaxing with family
- A long dinner with friends
- Watching a good film with my wife
- Completing necessary chores
All of those can have value—relational, spiritual, emotional.
No, I’m talking about time logged as “breaks” or “miscellaneous”. These were black holes. Time spent doing nothing of value. Time I couldn’t account for. Time I could have used... but didn’t.
And 650 hours later, it showed.
Time Wasted in Inches, Lost in Miles
Here’s the kicker:
650 hours = 12.5 hours per week
That’s it.
That’s all it took to lose nearly 700 hours in a year.
Twelve hours a week feels small—harmless. But time compounds. That’s the trap.
A few minutes lost here, a Netflix binge there, a morning drifted away on nothing in particular... it adds up.
And before you know it, that’s:
- A business you never started
- A language you never learned
- A relationship you never deepened
- A calling you never answered
Time Is a Weapon or a Wound
Time is non-renewable. You never get it back.
And as men, if we’re serious about leadership—spiritual, personal, professional—we can’t afford to be casual about it.
We have people counting on us. A Kingdom calling to fulfill. And a short window of life to leave a mark that echoes into eternity.
If we’re going to be the men our families need, the leaders our communities crave, and the servants Christ commands, then we must redeem the time.
Every second is a seed. Sow it with purpose.
