Hi guys :)

I know it has been a while… hopefully today’s post will explain why.Brace yourselves, it’s going to be a long one… but I know it’ll be worth every minute. At least I hope it will ;p

Time management is a skill set that can take you from 0 to 100 in life. It is more than important. I won’t even bother trying to explain why time management is so crucial in life because I know we’ve all found ourselves in situations where we were at the losing end because we didn’t manage our time correctly. Some of the outcomes may have been tolerable (missing to catch your morning bus) but others life changing in a negative way (e.g. failing to brake on time while driving). 

In a nutshell, time waits for no man (or woman of course)…It is only now that I’m in the 8am-5pm grind that I realize the value of time and managing that time to be as efficient and effective as possible. I know understand why my parents used to say enjoy this time as a student; student life is great!!! I used to look at them with disdain. Great time? Really? Pressure to perform, exams and assignments, dreadful school systems, even worse school staff and lecturers (no offence to any one in education; it’s just that in as much as there’s some great teachers out there, there’s equally many horrid ones. Same goes for students I guess a great time. But now I understand it wasn’t so much a great time as it was a ‘free time’. It is only now that I realize that my time as a student was not utilized to my fullest potential; the more I think about it, the more I regret not having done this or that in order to achieve this or that... but I don’t dwell on it because there’s no point of crying over spilt milk. What has happened has happened; I can’t manipulate it; what I can do is focus on the present and future.

I don’t have the Holy Grail on managing time. And what I’m learning and what’s working or not working for me may or may not apply for you so the purpose of this post is not to reveal or share a full proof time management scheme (I doubt something like that even exists); all I aim to do is to share my story and in so doing inspire you to look at time in a different manner or to just review your use of time. Over the past two months, there are a few things I’ve learnt about time.

1. Create a balance and Synergy with your timeSome things shouldn’t be neglected; time with God, eating, sleeping, your personal time, exercising and time with loved ones. The key will time is to create a balance; a synergy that will enable you to feel & be accomplished at the end of the day when you’re in bed about to go to sleep.

2. What is wasting your time?

In the same way that there are things you mustn’t neglect, there’s things that really eat into your time; I’m talking about unnecessary things that you can do without… (for me it’s the amount of time I spend procrastination, the amount of time I spend watching Korean and Japanese dramas)… the key with these things whatever they are is MODERATION and SELF CONTROL!!! I know not the best words or things that people want to practice but they are necessary.

3. Planning

Planning… that is also another word and activity that is not very popular but planning is very important to being efficient and effective in managing your time.

I find that to-do-lists really help me plan out my time/day. I start by writing down all the things I want to accomplish on a given day then I assign times to every item then I actually get it done 4 out of times which is pretty bad but it goes to show that no matter how much you plan for something; doing the thing itself is what’s actually important. (I will cover this on another post) 

Another disclaimer you need to be very realistic when planning and making to-do-lists; there are only 24 hours in a day; 7-8 of those are meant to be spent sleeping (according to health experts), if you’re in traditional 8am-5pm employment then that’s another 8 hours gone (not including the lunch hour); if you’re a parent or guardian then several if not most of your day is gone to attending to your children; then of course there’s commuting from work to home for those who don’t live near their workplace(oh the joys of bumper to bumper traffic)… you get the drift. So whatever you put on that list has to be realistic. Don’t put 10 things on your list when you very well know that you barely get through 10 things in a week let alone a day.

4. Keep calm and DO NOT get overwhelmedThis I have to stress!!! One month plus into formal, traditional, 8am-5pm employment I have come across the pressure that comes with deadlines. I’ve also heard from a friend who is self-employed that he also has deadlines… in his words “he cannot disassociate from the boss….’’lol.

5. God is the master of time!!!I left the most important one for last. I hope you managed to get to this point. If you have thank you  J I find that committing your day and activities to God is very important. Asking for guidance and wisdom on how to carry out tasks and activities is also very helpful and reassuring.