We spend our time in certain ways because we choose to. There is
nothing we do without choosing, although our choices are not always
deliberate or visible. We have the choice to work or not to work, to
write that report or not, to take the phone call or to wait. Each
choice is based upon a reward received or anticipated. Rewards are what
you expect to gain from undertaking or postponing a certain task. If
you didn’t receive rewards, you would not continue that behavior. What
rewards do you get for managing time the way you do now? Learning to
manage your time better will free up time to do the really important
things. Rewards come from good time management habits.
Planning is the most important part of the formula we call time management. Some of you say, “I don’t have time to do any planning,” or “Things change too much to plan!” But this is a fact: research shows that for every 1 minute you spend in planning, you will gain 10 in execution. 1 minute = 10 minutes. 10 minutes = 1 hour and 40 minutes! This may seem amazing because you may feel like you are already doing all you can each day! If you could just gain an extra half-hour a day through effective time management, you would have 22 more days available to you per year.
Planning will keep you on course in achieving your goals and objectives. Abraham Lincoln reportedly once said, “If I had 60 minutes to cut down a tree, I would spend 40 minutes sharpening the ax and 20 minutes cutting it down.” Dale Carnegie told a similar story of two men who were out chopping wood. One man worked hard all day, took no breaks, and only stopped briefly for lunch. The other chopper took several breaks during the day and a short nap at lunch. At the end of the day, the woodsman who had taken no breaks was quite disturbed to see that the other chopper had cut more wood than he had. He said, “I don’t understand. Every time I looked around, you were sitting down, yet you cut more wood than I did.” His companion asked, “Did you also notice that while I was sitting down, I was sharpening my ax?”
Planning is the most important part of the formula we call time management. Some of you say, “I don’t have time to do any planning,” or “Things change too much to plan!” But this is a fact: research shows that for every 1 minute you spend in planning, you will gain 10 in execution. 1 minute = 10 minutes. 10 minutes = 1 hour and 40 minutes! This may seem amazing because you may feel like you are already doing all you can each day! If you could just gain an extra half-hour a day through effective time management, you would have 22 more days available to you per year.
Planning will keep you on course in achieving your goals and objectives. Abraham Lincoln reportedly once said, “If I had 60 minutes to cut down a tree, I would spend 40 minutes sharpening the ax and 20 minutes cutting it down.” Dale Carnegie told a similar story of two men who were out chopping wood. One man worked hard all day, took no breaks, and only stopped briefly for lunch. The other chopper took several breaks during the day and a short nap at lunch. At the end of the day, the woodsman who had taken no breaks was quite disturbed to see that the other chopper had cut more wood than he had. He said, “I don’t understand. Every time I looked around, you were sitting down, yet you cut more wood than I did.” His companion asked, “Did you also notice that while I was sitting down, I was sharpening my ax?”
