Time…the single common denominator

Time…the single common denominator

I have been thinking a lot lately, about a host of things. Not bad thinking per se, more like rethinking my previous thoughts.

Time has been one of the things I have thought a lot of lately.

Time is the only common denominator given to ALL men, regardless of race, gender, geography, genealogy, everything!

We all have the exact same 24 hours, 7 weeks and 12 months, Year in, Year out.

Ideally, one could say, no one whether rich or poor can buy more time for himself, but I am beginning to feel that’s not entirely true. So, I will share some of my thoughts on time with you.

1. Time like money is a premium commodity and the forces contending for it are numerous; this means that although we all start out with the same amount of time, some people can and do get more time than others.

2. Your time is your life! Why do you think when some dies “young” the phrase “Gone too soon” is used? It is almost as if the person ran out of time. So every time you give your time to something or someone, you are giving a part of your life away. Really bothers me how much of my life I have given so far to cable TV.

3. Time can be made, wasted, given, taken, bought and sold!

4. No one is a better manager of your time than YOU!

I guess the next question should be how do I make more time or buy more time if need be?

While I do not claim that these answers will work for everyone, they have and do work for me. You should try them out:

1. Plan. Some people say for every minute you spend planning, you earn an hour. I haven’t done the math but I know planning does save time.

a. It places your tasks in perspective and helps your prioritize

b. It helps you gain a sense of fulfillment when you look back on your day and you have done all you planned to do

c. It keeps you organized and focused, minimizing the time wasted

2. Stay flexible. I will say this right after saying plan because a rigid plan is going to frustrate you and those around you. Stay flexible and able to adapt because we all know life is not predictable. Be ready to revise your plan on the move as things come up but still try to stick to a plan, no matter how loose

3. Delegate. If you don’t have to do it yourself, then DO NOT! Find someone else who can without compromising on quality. Pay them if you have to, in essence, you are buying their time.

4. Say NO. This is the flip side of delegating, sometimes, just need to learn to say no. Typically, high performers do not like to turn away responsibilities and being driven people, they might probably get round to doing it all but usually knowingly or unknowingly, something else gives. Could be your health, your relationship with your spouse, children, family or even time for yourself.

5. Stay Aware! This is probably the hardest of the five. Staying aware as obvious as it seems can be quite difficult. Staying aware involves quite a bit of emotional intelligence. Maybe I would look at it in more detail in a later post but for this post, I summarize it like this; take time to wake yourself up to your internal and external environment and do it often.

I have been making time and it feels great!

You should try it too.

J