on borrowed time and at the end of it all
there is One greater than I who will hold
me to account. And so, I share what I’ve
learned from counsel, study and personal
experience.
reason that as much as housework is
necessary, in my case, it adds no value in
terms of facilitating growth or creating
an impact. As an individual, you have
to determine what your most important
tasks are in order to fulfil your goals.
Time is the great equalizer, everyone has
the same amount of it every day. Time
also is the most valuable resource; there
are plenty of ways to make more money
however there’s no way to make more time.
An hour is an hour, is an hour, is an hour
and once it’s gone, it can’t be retrieved.
What separates successful people from not
so successful people is the manner in which
they spend their time.
For example, amongst a salesperson’s top
priorities is lead generation. Tasks that
are not of as high priority are for example
dealing with some paperwork. Do the
most important tasks first, these are the
tasks that’ll have the most significant
consequences if not completed in the day.
Where possible, delegate. Then determine
those tasks that would be best done in the
day and those that don’t have to be done
in the day. A to-do list should help. The
first 2-3 tasks should be the absolute must
dos.
Time management refers to the efficient
use of time to achieve a task or a goal.
Efficiency implies that the task or goal must
be finished within a reasonable amount of
time. Task completion is the outcome of
time management and is a measure of how
well time was managed. The main thing to
remember is that it’s not how much time
you spend, but how you spend your time
that counts. Time like oxygen is free but
priceless!
To emphasize this point further is a story
from the book ‘First Things First’ by Steve
Covey, A. Roger Merrill, and Rebecca
Merrill:
A guest lecturer was speaking to a group
of students when he pulled out a 1-gallon,
wide-mouthed Mason jar, set it on a table
in front of him, and began filling it with
about a dozen fist-sized rocks. When
the jar was filled to the top and no more
rocks would fit inside, he asked the class
whether the jar was full, to which they
unanimously replied, “Yes.”
People from different cultures treat time
differently. Some are more accommodating
of tardiness whereas others expect razor
sharp accuracy when it comes to time.
One thing I’ve learned is that no matter
who you’re with or where you are, no one
complains about being on time or better
yet, being in time. Additionally, walking
the path of mastery of time management
builds discipline that gives you the freedom
to be all you can be. Mastering good time
management techniques will help you be
more productive, less stressed and more
optimistic about life.
He then reached under the table and pulled
out a bucket of gravel, dumping some of
it into the jar and shaking the jar, causing
pieces of gravel to work themselves down
Steps In Managing Time
Below are the steps that I believe would be
helpful in managing your time well:
Set clear time driven goals: The first step
to good time management is having a list
of clear goals for a particular time frame.
By identifying what’s most important to
you, you’ll be better able to sort out how
you make use of your time. This will also
increase sense of purpose resulting in
greater motivation.
Know how you spend your time: Take note
and record how you spend your time for at
least two weeks before attempting to make
any major changes. This will help identify
74 MAL28/19 ISSUE
your most time consuming tasks and
whether these tasks are feeding into your
meeting your goals. If you’re able to, share
your findings with someone you trust and
who could help you improve.
Organize your space: This point can’t
be over-emphasized. Organizing your
home and office save you much time that
would’ve been wasted searching for stuff.
It also creates mental order to perform
more efficiently. There’s plenty of material
online that can help you de-clutter and set
up systems for putting away things in case
you’re at a loss as to where or how to
start.
Identify tasks that support your goals:
Last December, the help went home
to be with her family, she deserved it.
Her role obviously had to be filled.
That meant doing a lot of cleaning and
tidying up.
A good portion of my days for those 10
days the help was home was dedicated
to housework. For many hours, I’d work
quite hard but at the end of it, I’d feel
very frustrated. This was for the simple
The first step to good
time management is
having a list of clear
goals for a particular
time frame. By iden-
tifying what’s most
important to you,
you’ll be better able
to sort out how you
make use of your
time. This will also
increase sense of
purpose resulting in
greater motivation.
Time management refers to the efficient
use of time to achieve a task or a goal. Ef-
ficiency implies that the task or goal must
be finished within a reasonable amount
of time. Task completion is the outcome
of time management and is a measure of
how well time was managed. The main
thing to remember is that it’s not how
much time you spend, but how you spend
your time that counts. Time like oxygen
is free but priceless!
into the spaces between the big rocks. He
asked the group once more whether the jar
was full, to which one suspicious student
responded, “Probably not.”
Under the table he reached again, this
time withdrawing a bucket of sand. He
started dumping in the sand, which sank
into all the spaces left between the rocks
and the gravel.
Once more, he asked the question “Is the
jar full?” “No!” the class shouted. “Good!”
he said, grabbing a pitcher of water and
pouring it in until the jar was filled to the
brim. He looked up at the class and asked,
“What is the point of this illustration?”
One eager beaver raised his hand and
said, “The point is no matter how full
your schedule is, if you try really hard, you
can always fit some more things into it!”
“No,” the speaker replied. “The truth this
illustration teaches us is if you don’t put
the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them
in at all.”
Schedule your time appropriately: Having
undertaken the time audit as described
in point 2 above means that you’ll have
a better understanding of yourself. By
scheduling activities, you commit to do the
most important tasks when you’re most
productive and alert. Give appropriate time
for breaks, outside demands, interaction
with others and leisure activities.
Avoid procrastination: Defined as
‘postponing until tomorrow what you
could have done today,’ procrastination can
be quite detrimental. In most cases people
procrastinate because the task seems
overwhelming or unpleasant. Breaking
tasks down into more palatable chunks
will help in dealing with procrastination.
To keep up momentum, reward yourself
for every ‘small’ task accomplished.
Avoid multi-tasking: In her book, ‘Nice
Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office,’ Lois
P. Frankel strongly advises women against
multi-tasking even though the fact of
biology is that women are greater multi-
taskers than men.
She shared a leading professor’s findings
on the effect of multitasking and, “not only
does multi-tasking make you less efficient
and less effective, but, over time, stresses
and even damages the brain. Splitting
attention between two tasks decreases the
limited amount of brain power a person
can devote to each task. The result? Neither
task is done particularly well.”
Mastering a new skill requires patience.
In one year since purposefully trying to
improve on managing my time, I still
slip-up. I however remain focused and pat
myself on the back for every improvement.
My mind-set towards time has changed,
I no longer feel controlled by time but
rather vice-versa. I also remind myself of
a quote from Winston Churchill, “Success
is not final; failure is not fatal, it is the
courage to continue that counts.”
Marion Wakahe is a marketing
enthusiast. You can engage her on
this or related matters via mail at:
[email protected].