E-Archive
From Editor's Desk
in Vol. 7 - November Issue - Year 2006
Make Peace with Time
Andrzej Wojtas (Ph.D.), Chief Editor MFN
Do you know somebody who really has time? I mean personally - because such individuals are really rare. Nobody seems to have time for anything and yet for all of us a day has 24 hours and a week 7 days. Having no time became at some point even fashionable. This probably since it suggests that this person must be very important, because the whole day is scheduled out.
Well, luckily this has changed a bit compared to the last two decades. Nowadays, we still do not have time to spare, but at least we know that we have to spend it wisely and on the right things. And there is much more than just work. Of course our job is likely to be always the most time consuming activity for us. However, to be really successful in life, one must acknowledge that time must be available for family and leisure as well.
That is why good time management can make the change for the better. And there is no question, it is certainly more demanding to manage time nowadays than it was ever before. On the one hand this is because we have to react fast to changes happening on a global base. On the other hand the number of choices and decisions we have to make every day are just much larger than decades before.
So we have to set priorities. What are your goals in business and life in general? Without setting priorities no time management can be effective. What correspondence has to be done first, which customers needs our attention or what project and product is most important at a given time.
Equally difficult it is to choose the information we use to keep us updated and how much time do we spend on this. The offer on information feels almost threatening. Literally hundreds of newspapers, magazines, TV reports, E-Mail newsletters and what ever else are available. Not to mention the internet. Studies have shown that a teenager in high school comes across more information in one week than their grand parents in their whole life. Of course all this data can not be absorbed. So less might be more. It may be better to reserve a certain time for e.g. just one newspaper, but to read the articles of choice carefully. You also may work much more efficiently for a whole week if you decide to unplug for a weekend and go hiking or to do what ever puts you at ease.
Sometimes it makes sense to "take time" to evaluate such issues. One can be assured that this will be time well spent...
Best Regards
Andrzej Wojtas (Ph.D.), Chief Editor MFN
Author: Andrzej Wojtas (Ph.D.)