Managing time is an art. Living in a world of exigency, we always race against time in our tasks, but mostly end up on the losing side. We either lack plans to complete a task within a timeframe or concentrate on multiple assignments and end up with ‘half-done’ situations, which evidently result in failures.
Time needs to be managed by first estimating how much time a task should require and when it should be completed. Tasks may be categorised as A, B and C, with category A as ‘urgent and important’, B as ‘important, but not urgent’ and C as ‘neither important nor urgent’. Such a practice not only leads to creation and fostering of an environment conducive to time effectiveness, but also eliminates bad time habits such as dilatoriness. In fact, a simple time management tool is to prepare a ‘task’ list or a ‘to- do’ list. It is an inventory tool, which serves as a supplement to our memory.
Experts say that to achieve a goal, there are three ways to spend time: ‘Thoughts’, ‘conversations’ and ‘actions’. Regardless of what kind of a job you do, your work will be composed of these three elements. You may be frequently interrupted in your work, but you do have a say on how much time you will spend on thoughts, conversations and actions that will lead you to success.
We always wish to control our time irrespective of where we are—whether at home or at our work place. However, to our disappointment, it is the opposite that happens generally. In his book Time Management, says the popular author Brian Tracy, “More than any other practice in your career, your ability to manage time will determine your success or failure. It is a simple equation. The better you use your time, the more you will accomplish, and the greater your rewards will be.”
In the above book, the author also emphasises the need and effectiveness of four Ds. The first ‘D’ is desire. You must have an intense and burning desire to get your time under control. The second ‘D’ is decisiveness. The third ‘D’ stands for determination. You must be willing to persist in the face of all temptations. And finally the most important key to success in life, the fourth ‘D’ is discipline. You must discipline yourself to make time management a life-long practice.
The main purpose of learning and practising time management skills is to enhance and improve the overall quality of your life. And if you spend sufficient time in preserving the quality of your relationships, you will find more joy and fulfillment out of your work, and there lies your success