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3:15 am Dec.19,2014 Friday ( Philippines Time)
What you will notice of the E-mail picture above states that Elder Sy is already inside the MTC. Letting us know that he is alive and well kicking and that's it. And then came the words " I'll email on pday".
Since we wont be seeing and hearing from Elder Sy until "pday", we might as well take a look on what that word really meant and as to why Elder Sy has to wait until "pday" to do those email stuffs.
The journey begins.
Preparation day (or P Day as it is often referred to) is a missionary’s once a week chance to do big shopping trips, play sports, do laundry and write letters home to family and friends.
Preparation day is the one day a week in which Mormon missionaries get a break from their usual proselytizing labors.
It is called preparation day because it is designed to help missionaries prepare physically for the week ahead.
Preparation day ends around dinner time (about 6:00 P.M.), after which missionaries are expected to carry on normal activities.
After reading the meaning of Preparation Day, two things comes to my mind.
First: Personal Time Management
Learning to use skills of effective time utilization will often work small miracles in the life of a busy person; and in today’s world, everyone seems to be getting busier and busier, especially the leader. So let’s explore together some of the basic keys to using our time wisely, beginning with some misconceptions and then looking at some basic principles and helpful practices.
We normally operate under some myths concerning time. We often think that we can save time or that we can make up time. We also hear that, “Jayzon has more time than I do,” or, “Brent seems to stretch his time a little further.” It is a valuable exercise to step back and review the fact that each person has the same amount of time as the next person—168 hours each week. We cannot save time, in reality. There are no time banks. We cannot make up time; it goes by at a fixed rate always. Jayzon does not have more time than we have, and Brent is not able to stretch time—it does not have a rubberlike quality. Of course, many of these so-called myths are a simple result of the terminology of the English language. However, we often let these subtle meanings carry over into our reasoning about our time use.
There are some basic principles and fundamental concepts of time utilization that are very helpful in learning to manage our time better. The first is the concept that we don’t really manage time but rather we manage ourselves in the amount of time we have. So we are really addressing the subject of self-management.We must learn to operate most effectively in the uniform allotment of time each of us has received.
A second fundamental principle that relates to effective time management is the constant focus on results. The individual who focuses on the required results rather than on activities will find the greater results actually occurring. We often race at high speeds all day only to discover that we have been doing things rather than getting things done. We have been involved in many activities but have not accomplished the results.
Second: Setting up Goals ( Daily Planner)
In using a planner, there is a simple little formula that helps in day-to-day planning. This formula is as follows: (1) list what needs to be done on a daily to-do list; (2) prioritize the list by identifying the most important items and marking them with a lettering or numbering system; (3) write down the tasks to be accomplished on a daily calendar, beginning with the highest priorities; (4) live by your calendar, revising your plan as needed. Many interruptions will arise, and you must be able to reset priorities as various interruptions change your plans. This is where the real skill of personal planning applies. We can plan our day very skillfully; but if we are not able to revise as various needs change or as new demands affect our day’s plan, then the effectiveness of our personal planning will be limited.
Another helpful technique is to ask oneself, “Is there a simpler or quicker way to accomplish this task?” With a little concentration, almost every responsibility we have can be simplified, thereby saving some time. Our powers of creativity come alive when we concentrate carefully on how we can do a task better, or quicker, or with less cost. Every individual must use these powers of concentration and creativity to simplify and reduce whenever possible. Part of a individual’s task is to be protective of the time of his people. So to make a task easier, or to eliminate a meeting, or to shorten a discussion would help his people have more time to use in the important activities of genealogy, or welfare, or missionary work, or scripture study. These most important areas of eternal significance must not take a back seat to less important temporal, but urgent, deadlines, meetings, and obligations.
The challenge to better utilize our time grows larger and larger as we take on more of life’s responsibilities and leadership roles. By seeking to master the separate skills that relate to our personal effectiveness, we will be able to meet this challenge. We will be able to strengthen our contribution to the Lord’s work, our impact as leaders, and our faithfulness in managing carefully one of the most important resources given to us by the Lord in this mortal life—time.
Me and my wife knows Elder Sy is a man of few words. But we also know that there are a lot of thoughts in his mind going on , and he is very good at finding just a few words to represent those thoughts. ( I think that's one of his talents ). That is why before he leaves home going to his mission ,we give him something of an alternative. A small Camera.
And there would be a time when words are hard to come by,and expressing yourself is difficult, and by just clicking ..... clicking .... clicking by the use of that camera, we all knew that a picture paints a thousand words. and that would be enough.
