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Speaking of time, there seem to be just two ways of
perceiving it: some people complain about never having
any, others are always looking for ways to kill time.
But time is actually very fairly distributed. Everyone
gets 60 minutes per hour and 24 hours per day, net. it
is only the daily tasks that are distributed unequally.
They make the day too short for some people and too long
for others. Just imagine a pupil who is handed his
lessons for the week all in one lump: "By Saturday you
have to do 100 maths problems, read 20 pages in your
reading book, write two dictations and a composition,
and know all about the geography of the North Sea and
about the biblical Flood. You must also learn two songs,
participate in sports and find time for needlework and
drawing." The pupil will probably be shocked by this
mountain of work and prefer to stay in bed pretending to
have the flu. However, divided according to subjects and
lessons, the weekly workload is not as intimidating. The
child sees that all the subjects can be covered -- and
there is free time as well. A schedule can also help
adults to fight their way through too many commitments.
It shows us how the 168 hours of a week is spent. For
example, that we slept a total of 3020 minutes,
sacrificed 2875 minutes for our job, spent 1885 minutes
on various tasks such as shopping or a visit to the
dentist, and that only 2300 minutes was left for leisure
time. By means of such an analysis, we can observe
critically the aspects we like and the ones we don't.
Some of the results might even shock us -- when we
realize, for instance, how much time we spend watching
television and how little time remains for the people
closest to us. Often time problems are caused by an
external situation. In our work, we usually have no
choice but to fix dates and to be on time for
appointments. But time problems also have their roots in
our fears and desires. They are not simply a matter of
fate, they are at least partly homemade. Continually we
are falling into our own traps by overlooking our days.
Afterwards, we get angry because every unexpected
occurrence throws us off completely. The same problem
occurs if we let ourselves get bogged down with a number
of small tasks before we focus on the main job. When we
finally give our undivided attention to the latter, a
lot of time has already been wasted. Another example is
that many people take on too many responsibilities, not
out of a spontaneous desire to help, but because they
are afraid that other people will look at them askance
and because due to their own insecurity, they are
dependent on the approval of others. Thus, they comply
with every request, no matter how unpleasant. The desire
to be praised can be so strong that they even refrain
from saying how time-consuming and difficult it has been
to complete the task. People who have time don't
necessarily wok less than others who are always in a
rush. But they know how to set priorities, and they
stick to their decisions. Learning how to use your time
best can change your whole way of life and help you to
get tasks accomplished. |
