Critical Factor for Success
Everybody from nursery kids to PG student,
business magnet to CEO, from homemaker to receptionist complaints “no time”.
Have you ever thought of it why?.... Why people lack time? Let’s think.
Baltasar Gracián said, “Nothing really
belongs to us but time, which even he has who has nothing else”. Yes! We are
endowed with the free gift of time. Still we say ‘No time’ because we don’t
know how to spend this precious commodity carefully, effectively and wisely.
Of course we need time for our daily
routine- say study for a student. Besides this we need time to spend with
families and friends, in creative and re-creative activities and so on. And so
you can see why the management of time becomes such a critical factor in your
life.
What
is time management?
A
few minutes of reflection will tell you that the quality of your attention
varies at different times. If you are tired, you can’t concentrate. On the
other hand, at certain times of the day you are habitually more alert. In this
context we can remember the Pareto principle or 80:20 rule. It states that “the
significant items of a given group form a relatively small part of the total”
for example:
20:
of your time produces,
80:
of your high quality output.
For
simplicity, I shall elaborate this as: while you do something without time
management your work is 80% and the result is only 20%. Instead, if you are
successful in time management you can achieve 80% with an effort of 20%!!!
So, you can succeed in your life if you
can succeed in your personal time management.
How do we manage our time?
Time management is not a very complex
affair, but it is the unavoidable path to simplify our numerous big and small
problems we come across.
The
fundamental steps of time management are:
*Identify
long term goals
A
goal is a deliberately selected result that can be won by dedicated and
prolonged effort. Example: “My
goal is to become a member of the editorial board of THE HINDU” or “My
goal is to become an exemplary English professor”
*Find
out short term goals
Short
term goals are results to be achieved within a short period. Example: “I
should complete my PG course in flying colours” or “I
should secure an admission for research in oxford”
*Identify
the objective
An objective is something tangible,
specific and immediately attainable. Example: “I
should pass the next semester examinations in O level”
*Make
use of your best time
Program
your day so that “best time” is given to the highest grade activities such as
learning poetry.
*Avoid
procrastination
If
you plan to do something in a particular time, do it in the appointed time,
without postponement. Remember “Procrastination is the thief of time”.
*Plan
the day
The
longest journey begins with a single step. You will never achieve an objective
if you do not break it down into manageable steps. So it is necessary to remind
you “do not leave any day without planning”. It is an essential discipline to
compile a programme for the day. The daily plan likely to take 15 minutes. In
return for this investment, you gain a sense of control, direction and freedom
which is otherwise impossible. Set limits for all tasks. Get into the
way of always estimating the amount of time required to do each job, such as
preparing a project work or writing assignment. Do not extend the time limit
set for the tasks. Otherwise work expands and time is lost according to
Parkinson’s law-namely that works expand to fill the time available for it.
*Establish
your priorities
Make
out a list of what you want to do each day. Mark time in the order of priority.
If you have worked according to your sense of priorities, you will have done
the important jobs and that are what managing your time is about.
*Review
Review
each day briefly. Identify the success and analyse the reason for failures. If
you couldn’t complete the given task within the allotted time, analyse the
reasons for the lack of time and ask yourself “What were you busy about?”
A
final word
The
wonderful thing is that tomorrow’s 24 hours now await you untouched and unused.
You are now in a position to make more effective use of your time. The end result of organizing or
managing yourself and time properly is that you should be in good order. The
end result of being in good order is that you are able to use your energies,
talents and time more effectively on the things that matter to you and to start
linking your daily planning to longer-term goals and objectives and finally
leads to success.
Submitted by,
Greshma Clement
MA English Literature
First Year
