I always wonder whether the time is running or we (the humans) run the time. Technically, we invented the time and decided how many hours, how many minutes and how many seconds per minute a clock should have. Again, we are the ones who worry that the time is running and we have no time. Have you ever gave it a thought?
Most of us feel that time is running fast when we have so many things to do and time is running slow when we have nothing to do. Why does it happen? Have you ever experienced these thoughts? What would you say if I say that it is something related to economics.
Yes, the more time you want the scarce it becomes. It is basically a demand and supply function of time. The only thing here is we cannot alter the supply of time like we do for all other things. Because time is always limited with respect to our life span. However, we can alter the demand as it is related to adjusting our own works and preferences and managing the time wisely. How could you alter the demand then?
Time management is a subject which everyone likes to learn and many people are experts in it. But, most of them don’t know how to apply it in real life. While reading, it seems easy and when it comes to its application, we struggle because it takes a lot of discipline and control to do that. And, we, humans are full of emotions that sometimes dominate our aim to control ourselves in doing some things. Decision making is one more important aspect in time management. Likewise, there are many other qualities one has to develop to manage the time well.
But, how can we develop them? Is it really important that we should manage time? Or are you happy by being letting yourself go with whatever happens in your life? Whoever you are, at some point, you will regret the things that you have not done when you have the time to do them. The only solution to this issue is to reduce the number of regrets as it is well known that it is impossible to have no regrets in one’s life. May be at the end, many of us might feel that everything happens for a reason – the so called optimistic people, but we should not forget that we have the ability to change the reasons.
Particularly in the current digital era, we are running out of time faster than ever. Despite the statistics and surveys that say that the current generation is wasting most of their productive time on internet, many of them are turning it into a productive by showcasing their talents on social media. So, it is not right to say that digital platforms are bad for time management but we should all think about the amount of time we are spending on them. Again, it varies from person to person. If you are someone whose livelihood is based on a digital platform, it’s completely fine if you spend all your time on it. But, if you are someone who doesn’t have anything related to digital platforms like Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Netflix, you are really wasting your time. No one mentions it but they are actually very addictive. Hence, one should reflect on how important they are to them, how closer they are with one’s goals in life and how much time is worth spending on them.
There is a very simple technique to manage time more wisely i.e., prioritising things. Identify your goals. Write them down on a paper. You can also use an excel but trust me, writing down works out better. Write what have you done yesterday from morning to evening. If you want it to be more precise, write your daily schedules for the past one week. Then, calculate the time you spent on the productive activities and unproductive activities. Here, productive activities are the one which takes you closer to your goal and unproductive ones creates a distance from what you want to achieve. After listing the productive an unproductive activities, identify how they are associated with your daily habits. Find strategies to reduce the unproductive ones. We cannot reduce all of them at a time but start with one and pass on to the other. Check your progress everyday.
If you are using instagram more often and want to reduce your screen time, just set the screen time limit and be in control. At some point, you might want to change the screen time because you want more. Remember that if you can control the urge for 5 minutes by distracting yourself to other activities, you won’t do it in the coming 1 hour. It always depends on how strong your determination is. It works the same for all other unproductive habits.
There are many books in the market regarding time management and how to be productive but trust me, writing down things on a paper in a clear way really makes a difference. Just try it. In order to do it without quitting, remember that you never know what happens in the next minute. Always try to make use of the time you have. Enjoy the pride of accomplishing a task. It’s rare and the most peaceful feeling in the world. If you want to write a paper, write it. If you want to call a friend, call him. If you want to visit a city, just do it. Only thing that matters here is your happiness and satisfaction. Be honest to your inner self. Everyone of us always know what we are doing but we are so reluctant to tell ourselves the truth. Every time we find excuses for not doing something that we want to do. If you really want to do it, you will do it at any cost. And, don’t forget to write down after doing something you want to do because it will be the happiest moment for you on that day. Finally, never forget that the time is running!!
Look around you! 