There was a time when technology promised us more freedom – freedom to enjoy ourselves more, freedom from the drudgery of mundane and repetitive chores. In other words, we were promised more time. But we seem to be busier than ever before, frantically racing against the clock to do more and more, and technology hasn't really solved our problems. It only seems to make life more complicated.With the right approach, however, we can stop seeing time as our enemy and start to enjoy getting things done easily and effectively.
Time is flexible
This is rule number one – there is always time to do what you want to do. It’s all a matter of priorities. If something is really important to you, then you will find time to do it. When we say things like, ‘I don’t have time,’ what we’re really saying is ‘I don’t want to do it’ or ‘it’s too boring’ or ‘it’s too difficult.’ You can’t do everything, but you can do what matters.
So decide what’s really important
So what matters to you? Some stuff – a lot of stuff – just isn’t worth doing because it isn’t very important, so why waste your time on this? If you run through your week, you’ll probably find a lot of things that you thought you needed to do but which really weren’t important at all. Things that fall into this category can effectively be forgotten, so before spending time on something, ask if it really matters.
Do what you love
We always find time to do what we love. When you do what you love, you do it well – you make a good job of it and you are rewarded along the way. Some things you just love for no discernible reason, and doing these things is no chore. When you’re doing something that makes you feel good and gives you a sense of purpose and achievement, you are at your most effective.
It is a great tragedy that so many people do jobs they hate, seeing their work only as a way of earning money to enable them to really enjoy themselves at weekends or during vacations. Such people are truly wasting their time. Of course, we can’t just choose to change our job, bur it is possible to find ways of enjoying our work – there are good things about every job, and by focusing on these things, they will grow and the job will become more enjoyable.
Delegate whatever else you can
If something needs to be done, ask if you have to do it yourself. If you hate ironing or cleaning, and you have the means, you can just pay someone else to do it. There is a certain puritanical streak in many of us that says ‘we must do it all ourselves,’ but there is no reason why we should spend our time doing things we dislike when we can leverage our resources. If I pay to get my ironing done, I avoid a job I hate and I get the job done properly by someone who takes a fraction of the time.
Don’t try to race against the clock – it always wins
Some people are forever clock watching, always racing to finish before a certain time. Deadlines are fine and, indeed, necessary in many instances, but to be continually driven by the need to finish something by a certain time and get on to the next thing is exhausting, unsustainable and, in the end, not an effective way of operating. By focusing on how well you do something instead of how long it takes, you are likely to be more effective.
Focus on how much, not how often
If, like me, you have a busy and continually changing schedule, it can be hard to stick to a routine. Suppose I decide that I am going to go the gym every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. For a week or two, I manage it, but then I need to go on a business trip or I have a lot of late meetings one week, so my schedule falls by the wayside.
To get around this, instead of the routine, I can focus on how many times I intend to go to the gym in, say, a month – twelve times, for example. Then, when I have a relatively light week, I can go more than three times, and when I have a busy week, maybe I can only go once. But in a whole month, I can almost certainly find time to go twelve times.
The benefit of this is that you are not continually feeling you must do a certain thing at a certain time, and racing against the clock. Of course, you need to record your progress – every time I go to the gym, I mark my calendar, and at the end of the month I see that I’ve done my twelve visits – easy!
Just do it
If you have to do something, and you intend to do it (neither is necessarily the case for any given task that comes your way), then my advice is – just get on with it. Procrastinating will only put off the inevitable. Of course, you sometimes need to choose the right time to do something, but don’t use this as an excuse to avoid doing something that really must be done.
And finally, some advice from H. Jackson Brown, Jr.:
Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.
36 comments:
I'm so agreed with the perspective of "I don't have time". It is the worest excuse I have heard. Time is fixed. We can not control it but we can manage it. Everyone has same amount of time everyday but can make huge difference. When I give up hang out with friends but studying at finals which means grades are more important. However some people enjoy games instead of tests they putting games at a top position. And they should know what result they will get so just stop complaining how hard the test was. I barely feel time is not enough. I do everything on time. I only feel time passed so fast when I look back my picture albums.
I find this post really interesting and helpful. I have always thought of myself as a good time manager but after reading this post, I realize that a lot of my time managing techniques although good but are not effective. For example, I especially like the section on "Focus on how much, not how often" because I would always stress myself out to perform certain tasks on a specific day and would feel defeated if i didn't. After reading that section, I feel like that there are less pressure for doing certain things and that time has became less of an "enemy."
Every single time I say I dont have time it always means I would prefer not to do what you are asking me to do. I notice that reguardless of how busy I am I always find time to do things that I find fun. When working full time and attending school full time it is almost impossible to fit everything in. I have had to teach myself to say no to people. I have the tendency to say yes to everyone everytime they ask me to do something, therefore leaving me no time to do things that I need to get done. Also, racing against the clock is the worst thing you could do to yourself because first of all it makes you nervous and you also tend to make mistakes. The main idea that I got from this post it to do what you love therefore never feeling like time is slipping from you.
The fact that technology is expected to save time is ironic because the more advanced our technology becomes the busier we seem to be getting. One thing i am sure about is that time can be either your friend or your enemy. Each person chooses their own schedule. One should focus on organizing ones schedule so that they over estimate their budgeted time. For instance, if it takes an hour to study for a test, scheduling time to study for two hours act as a buffer that can be looked at as safety time in case of emergencies.
Priorities are extremely crucial and must be thought out analytically and carefully. All schedules have priorities and we must determine the priorities that best fit into our lives. Without priorities we would just be wasting time and energy on events that do not necessarily meet our own significance standards. procrastinating is very difficult to avoid but busy schedules oblige "just doing it." When we procrastinate it leads us to an unproductive behavior. I am not arguing that taking a break once in a while is a bad habit. We are not robots and people need breaks to avoid becoming insane. But procrastination can lead to "cooler waters" or inefficiency of our time.
Technology is supposed to make our lives easier but it has been doing the exact opposite. I feel as though you can negotiate anything except your sleep, even though most people take it for granted. I try to sleep 7-8 hours per night, if not more. If people actually did that, they would be more attentive during the day and definitely less exhausted, thus being able to use their time for more constructive things.
There have been so many times when I wish there were more hours in a day, even though I know that it is impossible since the # of hours in a day is based on the rotation of the earth. Technology has sped up certain things, but it has also caused me to 'lose' time. Since I am an Eboard member of two school organizations, my email inbox is constantly flooded with emails. I have to spend at least an hour each night replying to all of them. If there was no such thing as email& internet, then everything would not be so cluttered.
I love all the advice you gave. I am involved in a lot of things which means I always have to be on top of my game and time manage myself pretty well. I am a part of two clubs, working part time, coaching, and a full time student. Each thing is important to me, and I constantly have to figure out which tasks/deadlines come first. The last advice "Just do it" is the best one. It is also the slogan of Nike. If I know that I can do something right now, I would do it. That's how I am. I hate pushing things off to the last minute, since it just causes me to worry that I won't get everything done in time.
Time keeps running and you have to run with it.
This point and your outlook on time is quite interesting; a point of view I never stopped to think about. Like you said, we can never beat time. However, we can work with it to accomplish our goals. Doing what's most important, doing what we love, and focusing on quality are all great ways in altering this idea that time is our enemy. I am sorry to say that I fall under the category of procrastination, but it is not because I don't have time. It's pure laziness you could say. I know that the enivitible will come sooner or later, I just feel like I work better under pressure. Finally, I really like the quote in the end of the post about how everyone has the same amount of time. If Hellen Keller and Michaelangelo could do it, then why can't we?
Ahhhh, Time, don't we all wish there was more of it to go around. Ok so I totally agree with all you've said, however, I feel there are many instances when you are so constricted with time that even if you wanted to do something "you just don't have the time". I live a super routine life because I have so much to do that when I say I have no time, it's really because I literally have no time. So then I run my schedule down to whoever is asking time of me and they even get exhausted with my schedule. Procrastination is that pesky thing so many of us, for some insane reason, need to function. But I have to admit as I get older and my responsibilities become more complex, procrastination is a killer. It's like having that extra drink you didn't need and then regretting it in the morning. I definitely like your outlook on the gym. I will have to try that. I for one don't think I avoid the gym because of time, nope, for me it's just sheer laziness. But maybe with the 12-step gym program I can let go of some of the guilt that inevitably follows when I hit snooze instead of picking up the weights!
This was very helpful. I have a full-time job and go to school full-time as well, and with my commute and the bare necessities of life (laundry, shopping, cleaning, studying, etc.), I sometimes feel completely suffocated. Weeks go by like days and I'm often unable to focus and prioritize -- but yes, I suppose you can always find time to do what you love. The most difficult part is prioritizing though...sitting down and figuring out what's important to you and your happiness. This city...this age...is such an incredible distraction. So much is available to us now that it's terribly hard to focus what we want -- which is essentially everything!
Knowing how to manage time can really benefit us in every way. I am not very good with time management - I procrastinate all the time and I'm always working on trying to move away from procrastinating and trying to get things done earlier. I, too, wish that there were more hours in a day, but then again, I would probably just waste those extra hours doing something not important.
I learned the hard way not to procrastinate, especially when it comes to studying. All those bad grades I got, they were all from not having enough time to study because I procrastinated all my studying time to watching TV, going out, and just watching the hours pass. I'm actually proud to say I don't waste a lot of time on the internet. I don't spend hours and hours on the web. But spending it on TV - not so much better.
"Just do it" is very true. Get things done early, and get it over with. I need to work on doing that to give myself more time to do things I love without having to worry about what still needs to get done.
I love the "don't have time" part most. This is not the first time that someone emphasizes the importance of managing time to me, and I tend to forget its importance as time went by and life driven by many busy things. I let many opportunities to do the things I wanted to do slip away, because I chose avoidance instead of action. Just like what you said, I did many things that weren't important to me and I just wasted my time without getting any personal reward. I perceived myself to be busy all the time, and never chose to initiate my own momentum. This is all due to the fact that I didn't have a clear Vision and life seemed aimless, but now I do, and I know to to reach my Vision.
After reading your post, I realize why I am always giving the excuse that I don't have time to do a certain task. It's because I don't want to do something. I agree that time is always flexible and it's about how well we prioritize our tasks. Most of the time when I am deciding if I should do one task instead of the other, I usually chose the task that I enjoy doing. By deciding what is important to me, I can have better time management. I totally agree with you about doing what we love and trying to get jobs in what we love. I think that is why I like my part-time job right now. I am having fun at my job and get to talk about a lot of things that I enjoy. Your advice on focusing on how often rather than focusing on how much is really helpful, I try to find time to play sports while being a student full-time and working part-time. I do agree that procrastination is will put off the inevitable, I guess that's why I am always telling myself that I could of done better in a certain class. I do hope to improve my time management after reading this post.
I hate it when people saying they're trying to "Kill" time. Time can't be killed it's not real.
I spend way too much time on my personal and independent projects that I piss off my doctors. It's quite funny. Since I never get sick or have cavities, my doctors always get mad at me for rescheduling my appointments or coming back for a blood test follow up 3 months later. It’s not that I have bad time management, but I have things that are more important to me at the moment. When they ask me, why I reschedule it so late, I tell them I’ve been busy with my work and they roll their eyes. If I Know I’m fine, why should it matter? If there was really something wrong with me they would’ve called me right away.
Professor, i find this blog entry so funny because my enemy is time. I always love to start doing work or getting ready way ahead of time, but I'm always always always late. If I'm not late, I stress out and do everything really last minute. I realized that I never spread out my work in a timely matter and that I slack off somewhere in the middle. "Don't race against the clock", but I just have to whenever deadlines approach or just being on time.
I feel like "just do it" could also relate to the decisions you make in life. Although by just doing it you might have the possibility of making "mistakes," these mistakes should be seen as life learning lessons. I heard you can always see how much a person is successful through seeing how much they've also failed. But I am guilty of procrastinating and fighting time now and then. What helps me out more is when I decide to do what's really important, I write it down. Writing it down then crossing it when task is completed feels amazing, especially when you have long lists of crossed outs.
lol i must say this is a veryyy appropriate article for college students. we often find ourselves in a time constraint. I am a procrastinator, so i just put off things to the last minute.. like studying for finals! haha even though i know that it is not the most efficient way to perform, so far, i havent been bitten in my ass by this habit! (at least not yet! haha) i feel like if i do things at the last minute, than i actually do well! maybe its the added pressure or whatever but its good! now ofcourse, im trying to change that. for example, i began studying for my cost accounting final 2-3 weeks before because i konw i need to get a 100 on the final in order to get a good grade. i think one perfect way to manage time would be if there is a lot of pressure on taht thing. like take my cost acct final for exmample. i have intrinsic motivation to do well because if i dont, than i'll fail. so this is inspiring me to do well and began mkaing me study earlier! if students can find that (which i agree isnt that easy to get lol) than you'll be set!
Time is definitely an enemy to most people in this world in increasingly time-poor societies. Honestly, there just isn't enough time in the day to please everyone and I agree that is why we need to set priorities and know what we want out of each day. You can be so much more effective of a person through this technique. Time is wasted so often by watching television, playing video games, and the desire to lay around and procrastinate. Just imagine how advanced the human race can be if distractions were eliminated and a focus on growth and progress was emphasized while also making sure that we enjoyed true quality entertainment. Something to think about.
Wow, I couldn't agree more about it seeming like we are getting busier and busier despite all the new technology. I constantly feel as if I am short on time and have sooo much to do. What I learned is very vital is time management. If you layout what needs to be done first and how important each task is to you, all can be done. I tend to make schedules for myself when I am extremely busy. If I follow that schedule, I usually get everything done. Still, I always wish that there would be more time in our day!
Time management, what a great idea controlling it. I write all things to do in my note everyday. It's time by time. sometimes, I felt like I'm a robot. Sometimes, I'm frustrated if plan didn't work out as supposed to do. Sometimes, I'm just sitting, and thinking howI will use my time efficiently with all my alternatives. It's so many options until making decisions. I know Time never go back I wish...Time is money. I heard all the time..now I know time is actually money when a person do effort to use it worthy.
Wow, while reading this, I felt as though it was directed only to me as I was able to relate to every section. I can honestly say I have really poor time management skills and always find myself racing against the clock. For some reason, I can't get myself to sit down and concentrate on something unless I am under pressure, thus, resulting in procrastination. This post is especially relevant right now as finals are rapidly approaching and this is the time to get my priorities in order. I am glad I read this entry as I will definitely use a lot of your advice to help me deal with my time management troubles. I was especially intrigued by the "So decide what's really important" section. In retrospect, I could think of many things during the week I "waste" my time on; this same time could be utilized in much more productive ways. Finally, I really enjoyed the quote by Brown, it really puts things into perspective.
There's definitely always enough time to do what you want. The last semester I've had a lot of stuff on my plate and people always assumed I couldn't do it or were shocked at how much I had to do and doubted whether or not I could do it. To their surprise (and somewhat to my own) I proved them wrong. I did all I expected to do with excellence. I told myself that there's time as long as I know how to manage it. Sometimes I get sidetracked and I'm not able to do everything I want but I definitely made strides on doing them.
I have to admit that I have always felt like I don't have enough time, but that was really not the problem. The problem was not having good time management skills, which I have been working on. Although I have not perfected them, they have gotten better over the years and have been reflected on my school work and even cross country.
I really enjoyed reading this article because it motivated me to continue to work on my time management skills and to strive to be as successful as I can be.
I can relate to the part regarding not having enough time. I usually start assignments far in advance before the due date, but end up procrastinating and staying up all night the day before it's due. Even though I think I have my priorities straight, I always end up convincing myself that I work better under pressure, and that it's better to go have fun and clear my head so I can focus better.
I'm always racing against the clock. Most of the time I associate quality work with hours of time. If something seems too simple, I always second guess myself and waste more time examining every detail to make sure it's not a trick.
Wow, I couldn't agree with you more! I play vollyball and every Sunday evening, my team and I are supposed to get together and play for two hours. Most of the time, there are always those few who say that they "don't have time" because they have to write an essay or study for an exam or whatnot. In reality they could have done the essay or studied the day before or the week before, so the fact that they chose to do this during the time of our practice means that they just don't think it's important enough. I definitely could not agree with you more on the fact that there is always enough time to do something, it's just a matter of whether you want to do it or not.
Using technology to help you manage time is important. The problem with technology is that it may distract you and cause you to mismanage the time you have to perform a certain task. Often I use the calendar in my phone or on my computer to keep myself organized. But at times the computer may prove to be a distraction by surfing the internet.
Someone says 24 hours per day is enough, but someone says it is not enough. I think the different answer depend on how people manage their time. I agree our lives more complicated than before. I am not good at manage my time, so I often do not have time. However, I learn some ways to become friends with time, like mark my calendar and choose the right time to do something. I will try do not say I don’t have enough time again.
What an interesting article! It even made me feel embarrassed because sometimes I do say "I don't have enough time". It seems to me that i really don't but I understand that it's just an excuse. Sometimes it's just not easy to manage time, because as every person i like to relax, do something else besides what I have to do (work, school). I really should focus on things like i don't have to do. Stop wasting my time. I found this article very helpful!
Time is my worst enemy. I hate time! Reason I hate it so much is because I never have enough of it. Its either not enough sleep, not enough time to get somewhere, not enough time to do homework, or not enough time to just relax. Yes, most of it is my own fault because I love to procrastinate (look at the time when I am posting this comment). Time management is one of the things that I try to work on, but fail every single time. Main reason is because I get easily distracted. May be I have ADD, but I don't have the time to get diagnosed, plus, what difference will it make? Time management is probably one of the most important skills in life and one I seriously need to master soon.
Time is my biggest enemy and time management probably my greatest weakness. As other students mentioned, I somehow always manage to find time to do something I enjoy. Yet, it's really hard for me to get things done in advance as opposed to right before the deadline. I somehow need the pressure, because otherwise I can't get anything done. Hopefully, when I'm a bit older I will somehow figure out how to manage my time efficiently (or at least have enough money for an assistant :) )
I agree with you when you said don't fight time cause it always win. That is so true. Whenever I try to rush something cause I don't have much time, I never seem to do well. I guess that's why it is important to manage our time efficiently. And I am learning that the hard way. This semester I am becoming better at managing my time, which is already showing results.
everyone admit the truth that when you said "I dont have time" to do is or not that is just an excuse that you give urself for not doing it. I think being a good time manager play a huge role for getting success this days. Manage your time wisely not only help u being more organize with your life but also help you keep up with your goal
..and it ain't slowing down! As we go along in life, the number of tasks and responsibilities seem to grow twofold. What also helps me(and other people with mediocre memory) is making a list. Writing down the most IMPORTANT tasks. Going shopping for asparagus and guava should not be on that list, unless being health-conscious IS of importance. I tend to get overwhelmed with number of tasks, and the fact that I am unorganized in my approach, makes it hard to even start tending to those tasks. When I have a list, then I know what has to be done - deciding WHAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.
JUST DO IT
Ask yourself - is this task inevitable? If so, just do it. Chances are, soon you will have more INEVITABLE tasks that you will inevitably postpone, which will result in you(me) being overwhelmed by the number of tasks you have to accomplish.
DO WHAT YOU LOVE
Professor, what if MONEY is what people love!? Then working at a job, that you would have hated have you had time to think about it constructively and humanly, is not terrible at all. When what you do does not concern you as much as the amount that you get paid for it, job can become GREAT. Source of happiness, inspiration, power, respect, and all the other things people mention.
Albeit, most people would be at their most productive level if they do what they love. Similarly, you are most comfortable in a situation where you use your congenital characteristics. Doing what you love is a right formula.
If there's one thing in the world I just can't ever seem to manage, it's time. I always feel like I never have enough of it and sometimes I lose track of it when I least expect it. With me, it's always the case of "so much to do, so little time" mainly because I never seem to be able to assign more or less importance to some things and focus my time and energy on those while leaving alone the insignificant things that can be done some other time when I have more time to spare. I seem to forget at times that I can't do everything at once and I waste precious time in my efforts.
I think everyone is against time, i especially agree with your comment of people saying they just don't have time. Like you said people use this as an excuse because they just do not want to do something. I feel like this sometimes. i just do not want to do things or do not really have a desire to and the " i just don't have time" speech will always come out of my mouth. Although we always make time our enemy i think that the tips you put can help time stay on our side. I'm sure time would love to get on everyone's good side.
This is so true procrastinating is the worst! And unfortunately I have a serious problem with it. I always plan on doing things as soon as I get the assignment and right away, and I always end up doing them the very last minute like this one today. I don’t understand myself because now for example I am upset with because I didn’t manage my time properly and left something that could have been done such a long time ago for the last minute. I agree not having enough time to do it is a lame excuse. I am honestly hoping that I will be able to stop procrastinating in the near future.
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