Inspiration on thinking and sharing my thoughts on this topic arise from two books -Eva Hoffman’s book on Time and Bodil Jönsson book on Ten Thoughts about Time (How to make more of the Time in your Life) (summary of the book).
These days, although retired from what is called an active 9-5 job, I still am hard pressed for time! I slowly got into various other activities which now keep me occupied 24/7. It’s only these days that I have gotten to escaping into what is called my “lived-time” or personal time. The “Measured Time” that both authors talk about in their books, had certainly boxed me into a straitjacket
Did you know that in 1990, Peter Heintel, the German philosopher, founded a society called Tempus, whose main focus was to extend or delay, or slow down- Time. Members are encouraged to present practical examples of their own and other people’s ideas on personal time management. The book that they published, Signs of Time (Zeitzeichen), is marketed as the gift for people who have everything- except Time
Manage Your Personal Lived-Time in 3 Simple Ways : Lived Time is the time you make for yourself.
1. Be The Hermit : To have time to yourself you need to shut off all devices, communication channels, and stop doing anything that does not make you happy! (remember productivity will come in only if you are happy). This can be done anywhere, at home or even in your office, and at anytime! ou need this to replenish your body and mind! Watch the clouds, the trees sway, people go by, etc.
2. Maintain a Rhythm: This is much harder to maintain, but with slow and tiny steps, it will help you get there. Rhythm is not the same as routine. Routine is fine, but sometimes it can get boring. So maintaining a rhythm to whatever your tasks are, will be easy. Divide household tasks and office tasks, so that you don’t have to do the same task everyday, but the broad categories help to get time to do what you want for yourself as well as office.
3. Listen to your Body Clock and not the Timepiece: These days there are PC alarm clocks that you can download and which promise you an increase in productivity. But if you have read late into the night, you feel certainly get up feeling fatigued and your productivity will decrease during the day. Hence, follow your body clock, to do the things you want to do. Keep a chart which can help you break up easy and hard tasks. Learn what tasks can be managed at what time. Pay close attention to the tasks performed by you at different times – some tasks are easy to do in the mornings, some later. I do most of my writing at night, so that I donlt get disturbed by the “ringing” of any device. Once you have learned that, then it will certainly be easy to set up your own time and get things done much faster.
Many writers on Time Management are of the opinion that if you rise early, it increases productivity, and your Time is better managed. I would like to disagree on this point of Time Management – you “don’t have to be” an early riser to get more productive.
In some countries, daylight is longer, so should people work long hours during those days? and when daylight diminishes at 3pm should they stop working? Some places with extremes of weather, if people were made to work during those hours that were less draining, then a lot of resources can be saved, and people as well as environment will lead to a much happier workplace.
So it is very essential to find your own Lived-Time, where the activities and tasks you like best can be performed, rather than let your own preferred tasks be subjected to the Measured Time. Keep Measured Time for your office hours. My next writeup will be on Measured Time and how to manage that to get the most out of it.
If you would like to share a few insights into how you manage your Lived Time, that would be most appreciated by readers!
