Do you often find that you do not have enough time to do things? Say you scheduled 3 tasks to do for today. You start off the day full of zest and confidence to tackle those 3 tasks. At the end of the day, you found that you barely even completed the first task because there were other things that were demanding for your attention instead.
The first and most important thing you need to recognize in time management is you essentially have the same amount of time as everyone else in the world. Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, and every single person in this world have 24 hours everyday, 365 days a year, just like you do. Time cannot be a limited commodity because it is always right there, unfolding every second in front of you. There is no time to manage. Time is just what it is. You cannot arrange your ‘time’, make an hour shorter or longer than it already is, or make it faster or slower.
Time is an artificial human construct
The concept of time is just an artifical human construct. It is a system of measurement invented by man to give certain order and semblance of meaning to what is before us. Centuries, decades, years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, seconds, milliseconds – these are just terms which we created so that we are able to better assert control over the fluidity of time. And it does its job well too – this construct has helped us establish a system of order and common understanding among all humans so we can lead our lives in a more convenient and organized fashion.
But in reality, time is just what it is. You do not need more time nor do you not have enough time. Time is always just there.
Reframing the problem in ‘Time Management’
What you do have, however, are more activities which you need to complete within the same time you have. What you do need are better skills and techniques to manage those activities and make sure they get completed within the designated times. What you do need to learn is activity/self/life management, not time management.
I hereby bring you a quote from David Allen, author of the famous Getting Things Done (GTD) series: “You can’t manage time, it just is. So “time management” is a mislabeled problem, which has little chance of being an effective approach. What you really manage is your activity during time, and defining outcomes and physical actions required is the core process required to manage what you do.”
The topic of time management / activity management is so huge that it is not possible to cover it in just one article. I will start off by first introducing the basic concept, followed by separate articles which build on this concept. I will also be sharing specific time management frameworks, techniques and tips which you can apply to your life. 🙂 Because of the ubiquity of the term ‘time management’, I will continue to use it interchangeably with activity mangement from here on. You should know better when you see the term ‘time management’ next time
