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Vital Aspects of Time Management: (TIME VS GOLD) - Muhammad Adnan Arshad - 07-15-2006
âOh! How do you do all these things. I have no time to spare.â You may have often heard this complaint. Some people always look busy. They are behaving as if the whole world is on their shoulders. Such people and their expressions give an important message. If observed carefully, such people seem to pay very little attention to time management.
Before embarking on time management, we should ask whether of a clean and clear mind
* arrange for a priority list of actions;
* maintain a strong mental state;
* be tactful and
* possess self discipline
What is time?. It is as valuable a thing as life itself. How we had lived our life is important. Whether you are rich or poor, man or a woman, young or old, illiterate or educated, we all have 24 hours a day and 365 days an year, irrespective of our status. Yet, depending on how the time is managed, one personâs day would be longer than anotherâs. For one a day may have been more productive and yielded more results, while for the other the result would not have been the same.
Life is a contract. It shares some similarities with consumer items, such as vehicles for instance. To succeed in life, people have to make the most of this contract. Only then is life rewarding. On the other hand life could also be full of perils.
There are two things we can do. One is to let the life / environment have its own way. As it is said in Buddhaâs teachings one could opt to do nothing by giving various reasons such as, it is raining; stomach is full; feel hungry and sleepy etc. These people perhaps believe that their destiny is controlled by an external source.
The alternative is to use your time to the maximum in order to obtain an economic benefit. One person will obtain a maximum out of his 100 rupees, while another will lament that he has spent that much. Yet, both 100 rupees had one hundred or thousand cents each.
We come across such people in our daily life. If one appears to be over burdened with work, he is one who does not effectively manage his time. Therefore, when you look at it deeply, you would realize that time is one of the most valuable resources in the world. Some equate time to money or gold. It is more valuable than even gold.
If you invest your time on a positive thing it is an invaluable investment. Those who physically invest in time creatively and innovatively benefit by way of income. He has benefited basically through time and knowledge.
If on the other hand, another invests his time in metaphysics would meditate in search of bliss. It may be an investment made towards gaining enlightenment.
The physical and mental possessiveness of an employee would enable that person to come to your office well on time. Getting up half an hour earlier, scraping unnecessary things from the daily schedule is vital when saving time. Time spent unnecessarily could then be saved. If you do away with such unnecessary things, you would automatically save time.
You would use that bit of time saved to engage in physical exercises, or opt to take your child to school, or perhaps help your wife in the kitchen chores. Those who always say that there is hardly any time to bathe would now have ample time to do so. When you attend office early, your boss would be happy and, you would be able to clear your backlog of work. The people who come to you would be happy when they see that you are not overburdened with work.
May be you would use your time to practice your religion. Your children would follow you. Home environment would immediately change to the better. You would have more friends. You would be considered a admirable person. Your social status would grow. This is what the time saved in the morning would give you.
Time can be managed anywhere. May be when answering the phone while at office, or during an interview, or else when having a meal. When you give a value to the time, you can plan on saving of time. When one displays affection or live for the sake of something, it is based on the benefit that it would derive and the cost and endeavor spent. When our own children try to destroy something we value, we would threaten them with punishment. People are used to valuing anything and everything on cost and benefit. So is it comprehensible to spend time for nothing? People habitually say that âtime is like goldâ, but do they pause for a moment to calculate the amount of time they have needlessly spent?
Assume that you are a boss at an office. Your administration expenses for a month would be as follows
Your Salary â Rs. 15,000.00
Workerâs pay â Rs. 60,000.00
Maintenance Exp. â Rs. 12,000.00
Supplementary/Overtime
Payment â Rs. 45,000.00
Total â Rs. 132,000.00
This particular month had 31 days and when the holidays are accounted for, working days would be 22. No of working hours per day is 8. Accordingly number of hours a person works for a month is (22x8) = 176. An hour costs Rs. 750.00 (132,000 /176). If we further analyze this equation, and assuming that the actual number of hours worked for a day is 5 then an hour would cost Rs. 1,200.00 (132,000/110).
Now, an hour at this office costs Rs. 1,200.00. If we further analyze in terms of each personâs salary and work period, we would get different results. Thus, we can measure the value/cost of time. If we truly consider the value of time, we would never waste time. If a certain task gets delayed, the time spent on that task will increase. Such obstructions, telephone calls etc. would further increase the cost of time. LOREN ROSERT JANNS and SUSAN.K.JONES say that one such minute amount of time would be equivalent to 1.75 US Dollars.
We cannot confine this scenario to work place or office. We can calculate our cost of time spent in day to day household chores. This would result in hard feelings. We would think of the time / amount wasted by us and the benefits we would have reaped if such time was spent on a worthy cause. If so, our social status / economic level / educational level and moral standing would have grown. If it was so, you would be in a better social position than now. Presently, because to this waste of time some are now unemployed while others are languishing in under paid jobs. We think that these were the result of social disparities. Yet, the actual cause for this is bad time management.
How can you say that you do not comprehend the value of time. You realize the value of time only when you employ someone and not when you are employed by someone. Therefore, if we are to manage time in an effective manner, we should make time our tool. Time management is a very personal management discipline. Hence, people should learn to lord over time. If, on the other hand, time becomes the lord, the time management will disintegrate. This is because our time is no one elseâs concern. If we do not manage our time, we are responsible for the others. This happens when we become the servants of time. Before time starts bossing you around, you should be the boss of time. If not, time management would be a mere catchphrase.
Principal reason for the absence of time management is the wastage of time. This happens without our knowledge and/or intention. This is the result of not realizing the importance and value of time. There are several causes for this. Basically it is the result of breakdown in financial discipline of a person. If you are working in a public service institution, it would be extremely difficult for you to engage in time management. Your client will have his own time-frame. Further, you will have to provide service to one person over and again.
A person calling you over the phone would not be satisfied with your advice. He would separately carry on with deviation and unnecessary queries. In such instance, you will have to spend time on such trivial issues for the well being of yourself/the institution.
A prime factor in time management is self consciousness. In politics it is known as self criticism. However, if someone can judge himself he or she can effectively manage his time. This is an accepted principle. Thus one would realize what one should do or not do. In this manner he or she should be able to identify difficulties that may arise from both sides. In this manner, you acquire the ability to control your own self. The end result will be that you will be managing not only your time but others as well. Then the time is wisely invested in a fruitful way.
We tend to believe that time management is saving of time. But this is the complete opposite. Completing a task in half an hour where it actually takes one hour and therefore wasting the balance half an hour is not effective time management. You should work to the maximum in the allocated time. A person, who realizes this fact, sees time as a valuable investment for our betterment. In the present context one can invest other resources than money such as ideas and new innovations. For example, using time for a newly created production plan, a new sales production concept, creative work such as Drama, Cinema and Tele-plays would not only reap financial benefit but also give an inner satisfaction to the creator.
When we are exposed, one of the important tasks is to do away with our inherent drawbacks. Knowing oneâs self is to realize our weakness as well as strengths. We should be agile enough to carry out a task quickly when it is possible to do so and refuse when it is not possible. We should not be afraid to say â, âNoâ when it is opportune. We should do away with doing a thing against conscience resulting in additional losses. When the time is opportune, we should carry out our duties to the optimum level. It is a positive quality to a good manager.
Cardinal principle in time management is acknowledging what you do not know and telling what you cannot do. Using the words, âNoâ, âCannotâ, âKnowâ , âDo not knowâ in their correct sense would not only save time but also equip us with the capacity to learn what we do not know. If we develop our mind in this manner, we would not waste other peopleâs time. Positive thinking is never letting down others.
In time management, a person becomes not a âhard workerâ but âa smart workerâ. Yet society is such that most people enhance their image through someone elseâs labour. Therefore, in todayâs world, notable achievers have not been real smart workers but pretenders. Therefore, not only positive work should be there, but one should promote himself. Workaholic usually indulges in a drink or a *** to break the monotony. This would not be a good thing in the long run. A physical exercise would be a better alternative. This would invigorate not only the body but also the mind. These workaholics would appear to be smart workers. Certain personal management specialists who have studied time management in depth have suggested simple exercises for this. By using these exercises one can find relief from his/her own under estimation. Place your feet firmly on the floor when you sit. Next try to lift the table in front of you with your fingertips. Initially do this thrice and then five times. Sit in your chair at ease. Next try to lift the chair with yourself. This too should be done thrice and again for five times. Stand at a solid firm table, which does not move when pressure is applied to a point. Place your hands firmly on the table. Palm should be on the face of the table, fingers should be on the inside of the table top. Now, let your body weight fall on the table. Now raise your legs slowly. You can do this this till your head almost touches the tabletop. This too can be done a few times.
If you can do one or two simple exercises like this for one or two times a day both your body and the mind would be fresh and invigorated. The stimulus you generate would ease your work. The work would speed up. Frequent practice would make you a time management specialist. Now, we arrive at some conclusions.
Time management is
* A mode of self control â Consciousness
â Discipline
* An investment
* An enhancement in results - Increase in service yields.
* Simplicity â Self-criticism
* Income in excess of input
* Not merely saving of time.
Therefore the benefits we derive out of time management are as given above. If we disregard them the results can be summarized as follows.
1. Not realizing the value of time
2. Having an unclear estimation of oneâs self.
3. Impatience and unnecessary rush.
4. Inability to listen to others.
5. Under motivation
6. Deficit in subject knowledge
7. Inability to take decisions
8. Unorganized - Inability to identify priorities
9. Time spent on other things.
10. Mental stress and physical stress
Therefore, time management is an opportune subject not only for higher grade officers but even to children. If not, we may have money, development targets and meticulous plans, but we would not be able to achieve the all important end results.