Everyone is always talking about time management, but is that what we’re really doing–managing time or the activities during the day? If you look a little closer, I think you will see that you’re actually managing yourself and your daily activities.
Once an hour is gone, it’s gone, right? But if a meeting was set for one hour and runs overtime, and you’re still in the meeting, what are you managing? You’re managing the activity which is the meeting. The meeting can last as long as you want or have to go based on the needs of what is going on with the attendees in the meeting, and any interruptions that may make the meeting run longer or shorter, for that matter.
So think about it next time when you think of “time management.” Are you managing the time first, or are you managing the activity within the time of day? It may be kind of confusing to some about the phrase “time management,” as the day is really about managing yourself and the activities you have on your plate. It reminds me of what I’ve heard so many times before: “It’s like the chicken before the egg OR the egg before the chicken?” Who actually came first? Just food for thought. 🙂
Evelyn Gray, CPO-CD®, Productivity & Time Management Expert
