Time Management: “I don’t have Time”

Welcome to this golden age of information technology and the digital age exposing us to new gadgets and better luxuries to allow us to navigate life with ease.  But yet we hear this common phrase “ I don’t have time”.

We feel this in spite of having high-speed internet, information search engines access on our fingertips, online shopping access along with home delivery, and various artificial intelligence contraptions and gizmos that enable us to do the same job more efficiently in less time, as compared to our forefathers.

Time seems to be the most valuable factor in our lives and we all are scrambling to manage time giving birth to the concept of time management. Soon, the term multi-tasking became the buzz word in the late 90’s for people. This spirit of multi-tasking practiced in offices seeped into homes to become a package deal for kids, moms, dads, and families, a new efficient way to lead our daily lives.

The question to ask ourselves is why do we have so much on our plate and why have we crammed our lives with so many projects and chores? Multi-tasking allowed us to do more tasks, but it robbed us of our ability to focus and complete tasks competently. But we had to deal with distracted kids and aggravated parents all racing in this volatile environment of completing multiple tasks all at the same time, leading to high stress and burnout in all age groups.

Thus, the concept of multi-tasking loses the limelight as we delve into a different approach of giving our minds the space to digest and complete each task with our full attention discouraging us from ” biting more than we can chew”!

Time is no longer “considered money” for people who were looking to get out of the rut of being in a rat race. The endeavor for them was to make life more meaningful. Life did not revolve around competition or being commercially successful, as the direct correlation between time and money had been broken irrevocably.

A new relationship was incubated between time and life making the “value” of time priceless. Naturally, no prodding was needed for this new method of managing time. Now, we have the freedom to choose where we want to prioritize our time with the awareness that the sacrifices involved is our own choice. A conscious method or a new pathway of aligning our time and life evolved with the color and flavor that is relevant for us. A common framework is listed below:

1. Identify our top priorities in life that make our life experiences more profound and richer.
2. Commit ourselves to giving our full attention to these top priorities.
3. Be aware of the sacrifices involved to complete these priorities and do them joyfully and with our full attention.
4. Don’t get distracted and differentiate between frivolous, essential, and urgent tasks.
5. Understand and absorb the idea that you have undertaken a sojourn, where the value of time will not be equated only in monetary terms.
6. Become aware of the intangible gains of leading a conscious life, where you don’t shirk off responsibility.
7. Develop discriminative wisdom to avoid wasting precious time and learn to say ”No”
8. Stay disciplined with clarity in order to structure your activities on a daily basis, avoiding pitfalls of innocent temptations in our daily lives.

We invest in meaningful relationships and tasks that enhance our life. Now, baking a cake for a friend’s birthday or writing a thank you note or making time for parents and grandparents, or simply some “me time” where we meditate or volunteer our time for a special cause are all expressions of an enriched and contented life.

No more excuses! Use your freedom to choose and prioritize with awareness and say “ Yes, I have time”.