Time Is On Our Side; Yes It Is!
Tuesday, December 7th, 2010If you were asked to choose, what would be your answer: Time is on “our side,” time is neutral, or time is “against” you? Did you know your answer is neither right nor wrong, simply your perspective. Nobody’s perspective is right or wrong. It’s just a perspective. So, you ask, what’s this article about?
Though your perspective does not make your answer true, it does have an impact on your life. More significantly, your choice will determine how you choose to utilize “time.” The moment you establish a perspective, you predictably reveal how you’ll experience your life… proving your perspective.
Time doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t give more time to one person and less to another. We all measure time the same way, like weight is measured in ounces & pounds. It’s completely objective. How we view it is subjective. You’d make different choices if you knew that over your lifetime, you were limited to the use of 100 gallons of water. If, instead you believed there to be an infinite supply, you’d behave very differently. It’s exactly the same concept with time.
There’s a perfect lesson about time in this. When we know how much of something we have, we change how that “something” is used. How can you use time effectively to accomplish a goal, if you have no idea how much of it you have? In addition, consider organizing and coordinating your work with other tasks on your to-do list, and your effective use of time becomes all the more important.
It isn’t about time management. It’s about the utilization of the time you have. It’s impossible to manipulate the supply of time, in the same way; you can’t manage the supply of water to the entire world. But, what you can do is manage the time you have. Time passes, the minutes tick by. You can’t change that, but you can be efficient, and effective with what you do while they pass away.
Assume you have one week for a project and this project could easily be done by a first grader in less than five minutes. Would knowing this information have an effect on time utilization? Sure. Imagine that with this scenario, someone asks you if you could run to the grocery store. Your response would likely be yes.
Now let’s shift a couple of things. Your project is a complicated, logistical problem that requires a lot of research, and hours of writing. It’s due by midnight. Now your same friend asks you to run to the grocery store. Are you a little less amenable to interrupting your work?
When you compare the two scenarios, you clearly see that knowing how much time you have and the time required to complete the task will change your utilization of that time.
If you have 5 steps that need to be taken before you can accomplish your goal or complete your project then utilizing time properly can assist you on that path. By utilizing the correct amount of time on each task, and doing so in the best order, you can maximize your efforts and results and get the task done within the allotted time. Time is just a measurement but the truth is that if you are not utilizing your time properly, no amount of time in the world is going to do it for you.
There is an old adage: if you need something done, ask a busy person to do it. This may be counterintuitive because a busy person has less free time but it is nonetheless true. Busy people are busy because they get things done and therefore more work is asked of them. People with an abundance of free time usually have it for a specific reason - they haven’t earned trust to do tasks or they don’t care enough to get them done on time. Which person are you?
Like we said above, time is the great equalizer. We all have the same amount of time allotted to us. There are no excuses… it simply comes down to how effectively we utilize the time we have.
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