Saturday, March 8, 2008

TIME IS A RESOURCE

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If you want to make rapid changes in your life, you must arrange and design your life so that your GOALS and DREAMS are at the FOREFRONT of your days, instead of them being an afterthought. - Jill Koenig



Time is a resource, a tool you can use to achieve your goals. Time is more valuable than money, gold, real estate or any other resource. It’s more important because with time you can create money (and other resources) but you can’t create time with money. Time is not only a very valuable resource; it’s perishable too. Lost time can never be found. It’s a use-it-or-lose-it deal. The way we choose to spend our today determines our tomorrow.


Today we are busier than ever. All that modern technology which was meant to save us time and make our lives easy has not always lived up to its promises. Most of us are so busy handling whatever life throws at us that we don’t have time to notice and appreciate the thousands of miracles unfolding all around us everyday. It is only through proper time management that we can find time to appreciate the amazing mystery this life really is.


Most of us have taken on too much and are trying to do too many things. Such symptoms are all around us; people talk too fast, walk too fast, try to multitask, and move from one thing to another without finishing the first one. All this is taking a toll on people’s physical, mental and spiritual health. Time management is not about trying to squeeze in more things into already crazy schedules; it is about reevaluating your priorities in life and getting rid off all the unnecessary things, things that you do not really align with your purpose, you calling, but you still do them because you trying to fit-in, tying to be part of the crowd. Freedom to choose is the ultimate freedom. You can choose to do what you want to do, what really matters to YOU, what aligns more closely with YOUR purpose in life.


Time management is not just creating a To-Do list either for everything that needs to be done on a given day; it is knowing and focusing on what really matters. It is also being thankful for your ‘Done List’ – a list that documents all that you have achieved so far. It is the gratitude we feel for our accomplishments, for our blessings that helps us figure out how we want to spend our time in future.


A lot has been written on the topic of time management. There are countless books, seminars, audios, videos, websites which can help you understand the concept, provide tips and motivate you to take action, but in reality, nobody has ever managed to get more than 24 hours out of a day. So, 24 hours is all that all of us have to work with. The real question then is not if we have enough time in a day or not; it is what we choose to do with the time we have. We can choose to watch a useless program on television or we can choose to read an inspiring biography of someone we consider our role model. It’s always about the choices we make.


At a higher level, there are two major pieces to the time management puzzle;

1. Choosing the right things to do
2. Doing the things right

How do you choose the right things? The answer to this question has to do with your true calling in life, your personal mission, your raison d’etre. You are here in this world for a reason. Nothing in this world happens by chance. Everything and everyone has a reason. God does not create a soul without a purpose. Look deep into your heart, pray, meditate, talk to people you trust, read about people who have found their true mission in life. Do whatever works for you but get a clear picture of what your personal mission in life is. And don’t be limited by your past. Focus on what is possible in future. Dare to dream big.

There is no point in climbing the ladder only to find out that ladder is standing against the wrong wall. Make sure ladder is leaned against the right wall before you start your climb. Staying busy, doing lot of things that do not contribute to your personal mission is counter-productive. So, before you learn how to do the things right, you need to find out what are the right things you need to be occupied with.


Here are few practical strategies to get most out of your day and your life.

Know what you want from your day and your life.
If you don’t know where you are going, does it really matter how fast or slow you go? Or which way you go? Learning how to manage time is easy but knowing why you want to manage your time better is what the real challenge is. Answer to this ‘why’ is not possible unless you start thinking about you calling, the true purpose of your life. Once you have some idea about where you want to go in life, only then you will begin to figure out how to get there.

You must visualize and plan your day.
If you want to be in the driver’s seat of your day and not the passenger seat, you must visualize and plan your day, every day. Before you start your day every morning, you need to have clear intention about the kind of day you want to have. And if you are clear and sincerer about it, the day, exactly the way you intended it, will start to manifest itself. So, if having a day full of peace and purpose is your intention, that’s how the universe is going to unfold that day for you.

Eliminate the Junk Activities.
Be very cognizant of your daily activities and ensure that there is no junk there. Don’t do anything just because you have been doing it forever. Just as you have to periodically check your purse and car to clean them up of unwanted and junk stuff, you need to take an inventory of your activities and make sure there is no junk there.

Create a Support Network.
Make friends with people who share your goals and values. These people can help you get more out of your day.

Learn to Say No.
Realize that there are people out there whose only purpose in life to waste their time and waste your time. So you better learn to say no to them. Your are a finite being with finite time and if a cousin asks you for a ride to a theater on an evening that was meant to be spent studying for an exam you better learn to say no.

Focus on Big Rocks.
Every morning create a list of the main tasks or the big rocks, prioritize them and start working on them before the filler tasks such as cleaning up the desk or organizing files start popping up. Keeping busy does not equate to accomplishing things. Filler tasks find their place; try to move the big rocks first. Things that matter most in your life should never be at the mercy of the things that matter least. Think of your day as a bucket and your daily activities as big rocks, small stones, sand and water. Put the big rocks first, then stones, then sand followed by water and you have a much better chance at fitting it all in. Try to do most important things first.

Let go of the past.
Don't live out of your past. Live for the future vision you have in your heart. You are not what you have achieved or have become in your life so far; you are what you are capable of becoming in the future. You are not your past; you are your potential for the future. Unless you let go of your past, you will never be fully able to live in your present. And present is where you want to be if you want to build the foundation for a peaceful and prosperous future. Spend your today the most productive and purposeful way possible, the future you dream of will start to manifest itself.