I gently held the hour hand Of the clock
I lagged with it for a long time
In my life like a snail, whispering to its fiance
I held the minute hand Of the clock
I flew faster than earlier
Like a lazy bird from a mount of snow
I realised I was yet late
In the path of my life
Then I held the second hand
Of the clock
Then I moved even faster
Like a sudden breeze of summer
Towards the blissful garden of my life
Grabbing all what I need

Panchamee
 

"Time is a circus, always pecking up and moving away" - Ben Hecht

"Nothing really belongs to us but time, Which even he has who has nothing else" - Baltasar Gracian

Are you battling a bitter struggle to manage your time effectively to get things done at the nick of time. Why worry! There's solution for everything in this world. All what you have to do is to learn how to do it and practise on a regular basis. Then you'll get accustomed to the habit that becomes habitual. Because human beings are creatures addicted to habits.

I'm going to discuss with you how to improve by learning how to manage your valuable time effectively.

'Time is equivalent to gold'. I heard it when I was a little child. But, I don't agree with it, because we can never equate time to anything. Most of the things can be retractable but not the clock. What do you think? What's most precious? Time or gold? . I know probably your answer will be " Time". Because everyone knows the value of it and the difficulty to earn and save time.

I've seen many people grumbling " I had no time to do it, so I missed it. Someone else could do it because he had time to do it". How can it be? How could we don't have time while others have? We all have exactly the same amount of time.

It doesn't matter whether we are rich or poor, pretty or handsome, old or young. We all own exactly the same number of seconds, minutes and hours each day. You can't say someone has more hours in a day. So it's not a matter of getting more time. What counts is what you do with your time and how you manipulate it.

Time is also like money. Once spent, re-imbursement is difficult. You shouldn't plunder wealth or time, because ultimately you'll become poor not only financially but in all ways.

When you waste your time it's like wasting life. When it comes to spending time, you should be wiser and sharp. Unlike money, you can't beg or borrow time. " A man is wise with the wisdom of his time only, and ignorant with its ignorance". - Henry David Thoreau

For most of us, at school, at our work place as well as outdoor, time management is the most difficult proponent in life. I personally have problems in managing my time. So do you! Aren't we tempted to put things off? I mean to procrastinate things and wait until the penultimate hour.

I've seen some students wait till the week before the exam to study, and bogged down and struggle to finish the syllabuses in overnight, an unprolific task.

We make deadlines for particular tasks and very often miss them. Then rush to catch the schedule. Haven't you had such experiences in your life? Haven't you been beaten by the bitter whips of time, especially when you have to extend the deadlines of school assignments and projects at work? One of my friends told me a story about his colleague who was fired from his work place due to his inability to submit a project on time.

One of the mistakes that most of us commit is that we spend more time on unimportant issues overlooking important priorities. Avoid spending a lot of time doing things that are not very important. You should provide yourself a lots of reinforcement when you progress towards your goals.

Why do we fail in meeting deadlines?

That's because we don't know which goals have greater impact. Sometimes due to lethargic attitude to start huge task, we tend to indulge in doing things that have no or less value. Our mood is also a worry that leads up to tight schedules.

How to utilise the time wisely

The most important thing that you have to do to master the art of utilising time in a wiser way is to identify your priorities. You should identify and eliminate matters that waste time.

It can be a friend who comes to gossip with you, or a friend on the phone who talks nonsense. Though you don't realise that they're your real enemies. You may be tempted to listen to all kinds of gossips of other people without realising the fact it kills your valuable time.

It can also be your TV set. You have to be a selective TV watcher. Though it appears as an essential part of your life. It's not. Watching TV does not require full attention. You can do some exercises, glance through some magazines, sew, file, write to friends, or even talk on the telephone.

Willium and Long two psychologists discuss that some techniques for effective time management. They suggest that before we even begin to implement time management technic, we must be motivated to manage our time. Commitment to solving our time problems and making time management a way of life is essential. Then we need to become fully aware of our use of time.

One of the easiest methods of analyzing our use of time is to keep a time log for a week. Every half an hour throughout the day, record what you're doing. Then analyze how much time you're spending on various activities.

Some tips to manage your time

1. Develop commitment to Time Management.

2. Analyze current use of time.

3. Set goals and decide priorities.

4. Be flexible in setting goals.

5. Work on highest priorities first.

6. Take time to plan each day.

7. Subdivide large goals into small tasks.

8. Make a daily "To do list".

9. Accumulate similar tasks to do together.

10. Build in time for relaxation.

"I recommend you to take care of the minutes, for the hours will take care of themselves" - Chester Field