Synchronizing Yourself with Time
Time is invaluable. No one knows it better than a coach whose team is a point short in the final minutes of a game, or even a traffic controller scheduling landings and takeoffs of flights on a busy airport. Ask about time’s importance from the news reporter who just broke a significant news feed from AP wire. A cancer patient with only couple of months to survive would probably be the best individual to throw some light on this priceless treasure.
Management of Time is actually an oxymoron. Time cannot be controlled and the clock keeps ticking irrespective of the world changing its colors. Prioritizing is in fact a better alternative to maximize the time at hand. All of us have been bestowed with equal number of hours in a day, however, some of us click deals worth millions and some end up making pennies within those 24 hours. None of us can create time, but if we give correct direction to our lives, we can certainly make the most out of what is available to us.
Because of its irreplaceable nature, time holds even more importance than money. Famous author Charles Spezzano in his work What to Do between Birth and Death comments, “You don’t really pay for things with money, you pay for them with time.” Our personal time spent at workplaces is paid in terms of dollars and those dollars are further utilized to pay someone else for their time invested in production of necessary daily use items. Everything that is up for sale has the inherent factor of time in it. Time management is in fact the greatest responsibility that any leader holds. Famous Management Guru Peter Drucker says, “Nothing else distinguishes effective executives as much as their tender loving care of time.”
Five Traits of People Who Value Time
1. Purpose
People who respect time, they spend it on tasks that enhance and advance their ultimate purpose in life. One is able to fully realize ones potential by efficiently channeling ones time and efforts towards a definite noble purpose.
We cannot extract highest performance from within us in the absence of a highest purpose. Purpose illuminates our daily life. In fact, I am a strong believer of the fact that a person is born twice, once from the mothers womb and next when he discovers the purpose of his/her arrival in this world. Uncovering ones ultimate purpose in life can help an individual in refining his/her passion, determination, focus, efforts and commitments. The eventual outcome of such endeavor leads to amplification of ones achievements in life.
2. The Values and Beliefs System
People who make optimum use of their time, they underline it with their values and beliefs. Your thoughts are what build you life, and time that is spent devoid of any value and belief system eventually results in a meaningless existence in which an individual finds himself/herself drifting in life without any certainty. Enlightening oneself with values and beliefs leads to wise decisions during ups and downs of life.
3. Banking on Strengths
People who respect time, always bank on their strengths. By doing so, they’re able to gain greater efficiency in their daily routines. Employers nowadays don’t pay for an average performance. If your skills in a certain field are 2/10, don’t waste time trying to improve since you’ll never be able to go any further than 4/10. On the contrary, if your skills in a certain field are 7/10, hone them further to around 9/10. Once you’ve attained that level, you’ll start getting counted among the rare few. As Jim Sundberg puts it correctly, “Discover your uniqueness; then discipline yourself to develop it,” Each one of us is blessed with unique abilities and talents. It must be our constant endeavor to mine them, refine them and making them lead our way to a content and successful existence. I have found my strengths in leadership, communication skills, creativity and networking. Once I discovered them, I make it appoint to accept no opportunity outside those skill-sets. By narrowing down my preferences in that manner, I earn maximum returns on my investment of time.
4. Prioritize To Be Happy
People who value time, they are able to draw correct balance between their professional and personal life. Such individuals prioritize their relationships and recreational activities in such a manner that no important aspect of their life goes neglected. On the other side of the spectrum, there are leaders who chase fame and power. These type of leaders inevitably end up leading lonely existences that are devoid of family, friends, social occasions and vacations. In the end, they’ve no one share the fruits of success that they earn.
Friends and Family are two of the best sources of happiness in ones life. A good leader always prioritizes time to enhance his/her relationships. Similarly, scheduling leisure activities allows the individuals to de-stress and derive joy from hobbies. Eventually, one has to look for happiness within himself/herself. We can try to surround ourselves as much as we can with our near and dear ones, however, the true happiness depends on the strength of our inner-characters and how we respond to various situations in our lives.
5. Team Builders
People who desire to use time to their advantage, impart others with their own unique skills. Such people understand and appreciate the time constraints and prefer to work synergistically in the form of teams. By developing such teams, they multiply their efficiency and productivity many times.
Team builders like these ensure that their legacies are made timeless in the form of capable people. They leave no stone unturned in mentoring and training the team members to perfection. Such people are visionaries who have their eyes set on the future.
I presume that this puts time well into perspective.