" wE CaN MaKe a DiFfErEnCe"

Self Management Vs Time Management


by Dr. Pious Thomas

“If you can dream it, you can do it”
Walt Disney, the founder of Disneyland.
The world famous Disneyland was built in 366 days, from ground-breaking to first day open to the public.
Management education today is more concentrating for the success, the vision and the individual’s urge to make the vision happen. Dreams converted to the reality with consistency and perseverance. Planning, execution, evaluation and reforming may be the steps for the success. “Excellence is something a human being can strive for but perfection is God’s work,” said by Lee Iacooca, a Japanese Business Entrepreneur. So let me put the concept of ‘self management’ a combination of ‘Goal setting’ and ‘time management’
To me the success is all about managing self. Live a life fully to the present. Be content and happy of each moment is the call for the day. To be a happy man, a contented man, one should have the passion to do the things he dreams for. Therefore, I believe ‘Self Management’ is the more apt word than ‘Time management,’ the talk of the day.
Goals are dreams with a deadline. Dottie Walters
“A Goal is a specific, measurable result that you want to produce at a determinable time in the future.”
Goals are Experiences not yet had, places not yet been to, people you have not met, the level of income you have not yet achieved, type of relationship you are not enjoying now, or having something you do not currently have.
Goals give directions to life, it harnesses the energy towards important tasks, a tool to measure your progress and you will face daily problems in the right perspective. It is found from the world level survey that people who have written goals have achieved more.

If you wish to lead a goal-oriented lifestyle, it is necessary to realize the importance of time management. It is only through a time bound program of action that you can hope to achieve success in any venture. Many people do not attach much significance to time management and because of the same, they are unable to finish their tasks on time and fail miserably. I would like to mention here about the findings of Yale University survey, the seven steps for the successful achievement of one’s goal.
1. Identify the goal
2. Identify the benefits
3. List out all obstacles that may come on the way
4. Find out the skills, knowledge and attitude required for achieving it.
5. Search for the resources and people to contact for the purpose
6. Have a plan of action, a step by step process for achieving the goal.
7. Fix a deadline.

“Begin somewhere; you cannot build a reputation on what you intend to do.” Said by Liz Smith. You know about yourself on what you are confident of achieving, but others know about you on what you have already accomplished. Ask yourself these four questions for doing.
1. Why am I doing this?
2. What is the goal?
3. Why will I succeed?
4. What happens if I chose not to do it?
Importance of Time Management
Plan your programmes
Failing to plan is planning to fail
Plan Each Day, Each Week, Each Semester
You can always change your plan, but only once you have one!
It is important to realize that the available amount of time is constant and all that you can change is the way you utilize this time. If you take time management seriously, you can break loose from this bondage and pack more in the available amount of time. You need to alter your habits and your attitude in order to derive the maximum utilization of the limited time at your disposal. Wasted time can never come back.
By some estimates, people waste about 2 hours per day.
Signs of time wasting:
· Messy desk and cluttered (or no) files
· Can’t find things
· Miss appointments, need to reschedule them late and/or unprepared for meetings
· Volunteer to do things other people should do
· Tired/unable to concentrate

Prioritizing Your Tasks
The first step towards an effective time management planning is to make a list of all that needs to be done in the course of the day. You would then need to find out which tasks are more important than the others and this will enable you to prioritize your tasks. You, however, should retain the less important tasks on your list. The next step is to estimate the amount of time that each task is likely to take and in doing so, you should take a realistic view. It is no use trying to achieve the impossible and then failing miserably and upsetting the entire schedule. Even the smallest element of the task needs to be considered in arriving at the required time. Once you have analyzed all these elements, you will be able to see where you might waste time so that you can adopt a time saving strategy.


To do list
• Break things down into small steps
• Like a child cleaning his/her room
• Do the ugliest thing first
After identifying the areas where you can waste time, you need to eliminate such activities. Your work schedule will thus be compacted and you will be able to find some free time for relaxing with your family. The significance of time management will be apparent when you have been able to organize your daily activities and are able to achieve your long-term goals with a sustained methodical approach.


Start Now
“What can be done at any time is never done at all.” -- English Proverb
Realizing the significance of time management is essential but not enough as these principles need to be put into practice in order to derive the maximum benefits. The best time to start is now as the duration of your life is predetermined and limited. The time that has elapsed is gone forever and the future is not known. All that you have is the present time and so, you need to start now. If you can set into motion the correct time management techniques, you will find that you will be able to achieve your target of a goal-oriented lifestyle and enjoy life to the fullest.

No comments:

Post a Comment