Time—And How Not to Waste It
“Time is the most valuable thing you can spend.” – Theophrastus
Time management is such a popular subject these days; there are training sessions devoted entirely to this and nothing else. Yet with so much knowledge and advice available, managing our time still seems to be something just out of our reach. So here are some ideas you might like to consider if you want to be a Time Master.
You can save a lot of things, money, bottle tops, butterflies… but you cannot save time. It joked that no matter how hard you try, you will always spend it! In this case, it makes sense to find ways of spending it wisely.
Don’t rely on memory to accomplish your daily goals. Memories are not as reliable as we’d like to think they are. Write up a “to do” list and stick it somewhere you can see it. You won’t waste time then wondering if you’ve forgotten something. You’ll be able to complete your work in an organized manner.
Don’t leave the difficult or time-consuming jobs until last. You might think you are accomplishing more by getting a lot of smaller jobs out of the way first, but be honest, how often have you done this only to discover that you are too tired to tackle the bigger job afterward in an efficient manner? Tackle those difficult jobs first, while you have the energy, and your mind is fresh.
Don’t rush things, thinking this will save you time. Ever noticed how when you rush things, you make silly mistakes or overlook something? Then you have to go back and re-do it? Well, if you have the time to go back and re-do it, then you certainly have the time to do it right in the first place. Having to re-do something is the biggest time waster there is!
Are you a tardy time-keeper? One of those who, despite every best intention, is always late? Here’s a nifty trick – set your clock ahead of time. Your clock may tell you that you are fifteen minutes late, but in reality, you will either be on time or a fraction early – and this is preferable to being too late!
Turn “wasted time” into “useful time”. It can be any time you consider “wasted”, for example, a plane trip, an appointment running late, etc. Keep a few things in your briefcase that you can work on during these “wasted hours”, and you won’t be experiencing “wasted hours” ever again.
