Crazy Busy or Just Crazy?

Posted by: admin

Remember high school? With the bell ringing every 40 minutes, you were constantly reminded how fast the end of the day was approaching, and whether your task was completed or not you moved on to the next class. Over time, you learned certain techniques to avoid wasting those precious minutes and became better equipped in handling the assignments and the constant demands placed upon you. As adults, our time isn’t so regimented, and we’re left to our own devices to manage time. Very often we develop bad habits and find ourselves busy but not productive.

There are hundreds of insightful sayings surrounding the word time, but until you put them into practice they’re not useful. It seems time only becomes important when someone we love is ill or dying. When we are young, time is endless. As we get older, we hunger for more. In emergencies, time is of the essence. During the 9/11 tragedy, time stood still.

Here are just a few examples of how you can avoid wasting time — time that could be make a difference in your daily life:

* Are your electronic gadgets time wasters or time savers?
* Think about the task before starting it.
* Try not to handle too many things at once.
* Do not begin a new project before completing the first one.
* Finish a project; don’t leave it hanging.
* Try not to double up on needless paperwork; keep it simple.
* Do not try to do everything yourself; delegate.
* Try to focus on the task at hand; avoid interruptions.
* When someone is speaking to you; listen fully without thinking of other matters. In this way nothing will have to be repeated.
* When running errands, call ahead to ensure your items are ready, if applicable.
* Schedule appointments either in the early morning or after lunch to avoid waiting.
* Ensure your home is clutter free; spending time looking for something is wasteful.
* Make lunch for the kids at night.
* Put your clothes out at night for the next morning.
* Ensure your car has plenty of gas at all times.

Think back to Rod Sterling’s episode on The Twilight Zone. The story involved a banker who loved to read, but his wife hated him doing so. Every day for lunch he would go down to the vault, step inside, and read his book. One day the earth was decimated by a bomb. The only survivor, he walked for miles until he eventually came across the New York Public Library. Ecstatically, he piled all of the books according to each year it would take him to read them all. Seeing one book under a cracked step, he reached down to grab it, and his bifocals fell off. In his attempt to pick them up, he stepped on and smashed them. All I wanted was time, he cried.

Reference: Crazy Busy