Most people have no clue what they are doing with their time but still complain that they don’t have enough. – Grant Cardone
I would have at least one leadership position ever since I was younger, be it in class or club. As I grew up, my leadership position expanded to outside community. I was once called to come back and give some advices to the upcoming generation of leaders and share some of my experiences on what I have learned. At that moment, I was thinking “Well, I feel that I had become more aware of time and I start doing stuff within the the time limit that I want, so time management it is then.” However, as I grow both age and as a person, I realised that time management is just the 2 words that haunt people.
To fulfill your life, you have to enjoy whatever you do and every second of it. Every. Second. Of. It. Why? Time keeps ticking and there is no going back. Time keeps going forward and you have to keep up. You grow older by 1 second for every tick. This is also why there is the phrase “Time is money” or at least that’s how I interpret it, but that’s not the main point it. As we grow up, we are planning for our future and everybody wants to be successful at the end of the journey. But how can you do it then? The logical answer would be “use your time wisely”.
Note: I don’t use the word “time management” here.
Don’t seek time balance. Seek time abundance. – Grant Cardone
Be Aware of Time
Time management is a relative matter. Not everybody is the same. However, to make full use of your time, you have to first be aware of time, whenever and wherever you are. You don’t have to always be wearing your watch. All you have to do is be aware of the existence of time just like how you are always aware of your phone. You will have to keep glancing at your time every now and then. This is to ensure that you are still keeping up with time.
When you have a lot of things to do, having a clock nearby or a small clock on your table (preferably) would be good. Every time you are not doing your things (like when you stop to think) you can glance at your clock to ensure that you are not late in whatever you are supposed to do. You will sometimes create your own mini deadline at the back of your mind for yourself.
If you manage to finish your work earlier that you expected, you deserve that (short) “free” time.
Be Focus
Successful people tend to work hard, smart and use their time wisely. In addition, they always put 100% into whatever they are facing. This includes their focus.
When you are focus, you would be able to produce quality work and time would seem to slow down. You will feel more satisfied anyway because you have tried your best and put in your utmost effort.
What’s most important is when you are focus, you are basically not wasting every second of your time, hence time seems to slow down for you. This is a part of the process of “managing” your time.
Plan (or not)
Planning is said to be one of the ways for better time management. However, it does not work for all people as every person is different. I tried it before but it did not work out. I still do planning from time to time but I simply don’t follow it strictly, but just as a guideline for me to know what I am supposed to do next.
When I am hyper-focus, I would tend to try to finish my work. When curiosity consumes me, I will keep searching and learning despite me setting a 3-hour limit. Nonetheless, you choose what you think is best for yourself, but I will advice planning as a guideline or timeline for yourself to follow. That way, you won’t waste your time thinking or do other unnecessary stuff especially when you are busy with a lot of things.
When you have less time available for work, you have to make better choices about what to work on (and what not to). – Tim Metz
Conclusion
Is there such thing as time management? Sort of.
It really depends on your point of view. However, it does sound good to have this skill. After all, time is precious. You can never go back unless there is time travel machine. But until then, no.
Always remember to stay focus on whatever you’re doing. Be aware of time. Every single second of ti. Set timeline for yourself to follow. Write your tasks for the day down somewhere you can easily see.
You will get used to it eventually and you will value time even more and you will not even worry too much about managing your time anymore.