MARKETING EVOLUTION
Timely Matters
By Marion Wakahe
F
or many years, every time I’d get into
the car, my mother would look at me,
shake her head and say, “You’ll have a
very hard time with your husband my dear.”
Once she said, “I’m really looking forward
to the day you’ll get married then I can tell
your husband, ‘she used to be my problem,
now she’s yours.’” Mom was referring to the
way I’d always be frantically running to get
into the car, 10-15 minutes later than the
time we agreed I should be in the car. She
couldn’t understand how even after waking
up early enough, I’d still be late. As far as
she’s concerned, I drag my feet way too
much and so yes, she’s concerned for me.
In other areas of my life, the script read
the same. Be it at work, church, social
interactions, etc. I was more often than
not late for arrival. Most of the time I’d
apologize profusely for my tardiness,
however, there were times I’ll admit I was
assuming. I’d tell myself things like I’ll
cover for the time I’m late. Tardiness for me
didn’t just show in my arrivals, it was also in
my ability to meet deadlines. Many times,
I’ve asked for extended deadlines, “Just
two more days,” I’d beg. If not that then I’d
find myself exerting myself in unhealthy
ways to meet deadlines.
Recently, I took a hard look at myself from
every perspective and realized there were
some hard and painful shifts I needed to
make. I was fortunate to get the counsel
of one I’ll call for now my life coach.
Interestingly, I engaged her to help me
with other issues of my life such as my
career and financial goals, my spiritual
goals, my physical and mental health goals,
etc. I certainly didn’t expect that we would
spend a good chunk of time discussing
time management.
It had never occurred to me that time
management was a skill that could learned.
I always assumed that tardiness was just a
part of me and that I’d just have to learn to
live with it and that unfortunately others
around me would have to suffer for it.
Walking the path of mastery of time man-
agement builds discipline that gives you
the freedom to be all you can be. Master-
ing good time management techniques will
help you be more productive, less stressed
and more optimistic about life.
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Thank goodness for counsel however;
my life coach made it clear to me that
there were indeed things I could do to
improve how I utilize my time for the
benefit of me and others. More than
anything else she also made it clear that
in order to achieve the goals I had in
mind, time management is a critical skill
I needed to master.
I’ve been given tips, materials to read,
and had discussions with her time and
again on my progress. For about a year
now she’s been my coach and in that year,
I’ve had successes but then I’ve also had
failures. That’s how it is with change; it’s
never easy and it certainly doesn’t take a
day. Overall however, looking back at the
year past, I can say unequivocally that I
have improved Thankfully, I’m not the
only one who feels this way, even mom
told me just recently, “You’ve improved.”
At least now there’s greater hope for me
and my future husband (should I ever
have one).
The year is still young. Most people
typically at the beginning of the year
have their list of goals they’d like to
achieve by the end of the year. To achieve
these goals would certainly require good
time management skills. I find myself re-
looking at all I’ve learned on the subject
of time management and also learning
more in the process because now, unlike
ever before I intend on living my life
purposefully knowing fully well I’m here