TM Article 9
Time
Management Flexibility Leads to Massive
Stress-Reduction
by Rajen Devadason
Nothing is a waste of time if you use the
experience wisely.
Auguste Rodin
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Many
of us are not patient. In this
regard, I consider myself worse than
most.
Thankfully, I
married well. My wife Rachel is
incredibly patient - which is a
prerequisite for putting up with me!
And because of her influence, I've
become slightly better at dealing
with life's unavoidable hiccups.
Since time
management is crucial for long-term
career success, I thought you might
find the following tip helpful in
accomplishing more and staying
calmer. |
Please answer this question: Do you
consistently over-book your days?
Most of us would have to say yes.
Well, over the years I've found - quite
ironically - that fighting the tendency to cram
too many activities into each day's agenda
actually allows me to get more things of
long-lasting importance done.
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This is an article on introducing
flexibility in personal daily time
management. I hope you enjoy
reading it. But if it isn't what
you're looking for, you're welcome
to search for something that better meets
your needs. Thank you for allowing
me to serve you.
Rajen Devadason |
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To best illustrate this, here's a
true story...
My wife and I live near - very
near! - a top-ranked primary school. Every
school day afternoon, from about 1:40 p.m.,
there is a terrible crush of cars illegally
parked all around our home as parents pick up
their children. Almost without fail, someone
will park right in front of our home and
selfishly stop us from entering or leaving.
There have been many times I've
returned home in the afternoon and completely
blown my top. It isn't a pretty sight!
I won't dwell on the specifics
but each time that happens I feel my blood
pressure soar. Well, recently, I figured out a
way to break my personal pattern of outrage
leading to inner rage. Here's what happened:
I had gone to the dentist and
found out I needed root canal treatment on yet
another tooth. After that, I drove home.
Thankfully, it was just before 1:30 p.m. and
while the traffic was building up, I was able to
open my gate and drive into the compound.
My plan had been to get my
briefcase and a few papers and head to the
office. As I prepared to leave, I peeked out the
window and saw the familiar sight of a locked,
parked car blocking my exit.
For a moment I entertained the
idea of storming outside and either yelling (I'm
told I have an oddly strong pair of lungs) or
blaring my car horn until the offending parent
rushed back and moved her (it's usually the
mothers who are the worst offenders during these
episodes) vehicle.
Then I caught myself and decided
to do something that was more in keeping with my
wife Rachel's patient temperament than my own
more volatile one. Realising the traffic would
eventually clear, I opted to pour myself
a cool, soft drink, listen to some music and
have a shower!
The reason I was able to do so
was that on the particular Wednesday in
question, I had not overbooked myself and had
the luxury of shifting things around within my
agenda. Half an hour later, the offending car
was gone, traffic was clear and I was able to
leave. But the greatest benefit of all was that
I left feeling good about not having over
reacted in keeping with some of my more abrasive
character traits.
The broader time management
lesson to extract from this true account is not
that taking a shower raises effectiveness. It is
that we should try our best to align our daily
scheduled tasks to the major goals of our lives.
Because, by definition, we can only have few
major goals, we should try to create space
between each task so that we have added
flexibility to move non-time sensitive but
nonetheless vital tasks around in case of
unexpected occurrences.
(If you
need specific help with goal-setting, then read
this ebook.
On the other hand, if you desire broad-based
time management help, pick
Unshackled
from this page,
instead.)
A major life goal each of us must
cultivate is to become a lifelong learner. Since
most of us spend lots of time in our cars, often
between 500 and 1,000 hours a year, there is a
high probability that we will be stuck in
traffic jams for perhaps 20% to 30% of that
time. It is vital, therefore to turn your
vehicle into a university on wheels. In my case,
I have a 10-CD changer in my car that is usually
fully loaded with CDs on financial planning,
goal-setting, time management, personal
development, vocabulary building and other
relevant audio content. I also always have a
book or two in my briefcase in case I end up
waiting for my next appointment.
You get the idea... Life is to be
lived to the full. We spend a major chunk of our
waking hours working. I believe we owe it to
ourselves to figure out creative ways to enhance
our holistic experience of life itself.
After all, the few decades we
have on Earth are God's gift to us, and we truly
only pass this way but once.
(If
you're 100% committed to becoming way, way, way
better at time management, then you might want
to get, read and
study my time
management ebook
Unshackled! 7 Ways to Make
Time for MY Dreams.
© Rajen Devadason
