ARE YOU REALLY AWARE HOW YOU USE YOUR TIME ?

By Pierre AH-FAT

Have you noticed how often urgent assignments, documents to sign or tasks to complete come to you at the last minute as most urgent matters? The way these are presented to us appear to be so imperative that it would seem the world would stop if they are not implemented immediately!

Let us take time to ponder for a moment. Is what is urgent always important? If an activity is really important, what about planning it beforehand in order to accomplish it in time, without haste. When we are not overstressed, we feel better while accomplishing a task.

However not everybody is used to planning. Often they would like to but they just do not succeed in doing so. Furthermore, there are people who have developed the habit of living without a plan or a goal. They let themselves be driven by circumstances. Still others believe they are being robbed of their freedom when asked to go according to plan. Many creative people, writers, painters and artists often find themselves in that category. They follow their inspiration. But even then they do have to complete say a masterpiece thoroughly from the beginning to the end, in order to derive a sense of satisfaction. We cannot really say that they work in chaos or confusion and under excessive stress.

It can help us know how to solve our time management problems if we are aware about the way we use our time. We do not always pay attention to this aspect even though we often feel a sense of dissatisfaction at the end of the day. Before we look for remedies and strategies, it may be helpful to start by observing our own personal trend for a few days. This will enable us to define which category we belong to? Stephen Covey in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, regroups persons into four main types:
The Procrastinator who says: 'I’ll do it later.' He cannot plan ahead. He is stressed and anxious when time is running out and the date of the exam or the deadline for the submission of an assignment or completion of a task is approaching.

The Yes-man tries to please everybody. He becomes a slave to others' desires and relegates to the back of his mind what is important for him. The result is lack of discipline and non or partial accomplishment of his personal goals. Hence he feels a sense of frustration.

The Slacker is a professional loafer (lazy). He has no responsibility.

Numerous people suffer from one of those limitations. When those limitations are the result of afflictions, assistance is needed. The afflicted persons can consult either their medical practitioner, coach, counsellor or psychologist to help them.

On the contrary, the Prioritizer is in search of excellence in life. Staying balanced is crucial to him. He is in control of his life and his time. He has planned his priorities and is never in a hurry. He enjoys good quality time and his heart likes what he is doing.

© Pierre Ah-Fat