Benjamin Franklin once said, “If you love live, then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of”. Assuming Mr. Franklin is correct, wouldn’t it behoove us to not only avoid wasting time, but also take every measure to maximize its use? This of course is easier said than done. Fortunately, this is not a new problem for humans, and we already have at our disposal tools to help us squeeze the most out of this stuff of life.
There is no surer way to squander your time than to be without goals. You can’t utilize your time efficiently without some direction in life. Set goals for yourself. Goals should be smart, that is, Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time Bound. You will need to come up with a plan for achieving your goals. This may mean breaking your primary goals into smaller short term goals. You will also need to set a schedule with deadlines for completing these goals. Once you have determined your goals and developed a plan, you will need some tools to help keep you on track toward success.
Mark Twain once remarked: “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And If it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.” The take away from this rather unsavory proverb is that we should tackle our most important tasks first. Frequently these are the tasks which we wish to do least. If you go after all the small stuff first, you will have less time and energy when you finally have to knuckle down and tackle that important task. Conversely, if you get the important task out of the way first, then you will have a sense of accomplishment and the minor tasks will be more easily completed. What if today’s special isn’t frog? What if you are served up an elephant? How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. If a task seems to large and imposing, it can be broken down into smaller more manageable tasks, which can be completed one at a time until attain your objective.
Question: what do Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster and multi-tasking have in common? They are all mythological creatures. Yes, folks, multitasking is a myth. You can only focus on one thing at a time. What most people refer to as multitasking is really just switching focus between multiple tasks. It is more efficient to single task, that is, focus on only one task at a time until it is completed and then move on to the next.
You should eliminate distractions. If your office has a door, close it. Put your phone on do not disturb, and turn off the alerts for e-mail, texts, and social media. Yes this might be painful at first, but you will have fewer distractions if you set aside a specific time of day to check all your messages at once rather than check them each time as they arrive.
At this point, I would like to beg your indulgence, and ask for some assistance from you, the audience. Would you please repeat after me…No!
As you may have already guessed, you must learn to say no. This one can be tricky. If saying no will jeopardize your career or an important relationship, then you might want to leave this in the toolbox. However, if there are people in your life who rely on you when they ought to be relying on themselves, or if you are being cajoled into attending a social function which does not interest you, then those could be excellent opportunities to practice saying no.
If you absolutely can’t say no, you still have options. You can delegate or outsource tasks to others. But do it before they learn how to say no.
The next and final subject you may not ordinarily associate with time management, and that is health. You need to be healthy in order to deliver top performance. Get enough sleep. 7-8 hours is optimal. Adopt a healthy diet. Exercise. Exercise is good for your brain and will provide you with more energy to put toward achieving your goals. Rejuvenate. We all need some down time. Spend yours wisely. Turn off the TV and go do something. Read a book. Play with your kids. Play with your pets. Take up a hobby. Join Toastmasters! The possibilities are endless but do something that engages your mind and or your body.
Toastmasters and guests, I hope you have found this presentation worthy of your time and the information therein to be of use. I opened this speech with a quote from Ben Franklin. I would now like to bring it to a close with a quote from the Stoic philosopher Seneca. “No person would give up even an inch of their estate and the slightest dispute with a neighbor can mean hell to pay; yet we easily let others encroach upon our lives-worse, we often pave the way for those who will take it over. No person hands out their money to passersby, but to how many do each of us hand out our lives! We’re tightfisted with property and money, yet think little of wasting time, the one thing about which we should all be the toughest misers”.