TIME – The Essence of Fructuous Living

It has often been said that time and tides wait for no man. I first learnt about this phrase when I was in primary four from the literature book ‘Çhike and the River’ written by renowned Nigerian Author Chinua Achebe when Samuel Maduka Obi (SMOG) told Chike to hurry up and gather enough shillings (money) to cross the river Niger before the bridge was built across it.

Also, it is said that Mr Time is nobody’s friend. But I beg to disagree. Who would give every Tom, Dick and Harry equal chance at life? Only a true friend could. Who would provide us with an equal platform to thrive and make headway in life? Only a true friend could. How then is Mr Time no man’s friend?
Truth is, time can indeed be no man’s friend. In fact, it can only be friend with those who come to embrace the way it operates. True? Absolutely yes!

Before we proceed, let’s agree on some facts about time.
1.   What you think of as a day – how long it takes the earth to rotate – isn’t 24 hours. It is 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4.2 seconds.
2.  According to a recent research, the three most common ways people spend more time at work not working are taking breaks, going to the bathroom, and gossiping with co-workers. You can relate, huh?
3.  Another report has it that people spend more time on mobile apps while on a job than focus on work related tasks.
4.  Everyone says, ‘time flies when you are having fun.’ But a study showed that people felt like time passed more slowly when you engage in activities that make you deliberately pay attention i.e., listening to music.
5.  All the blinking in one day equates to having your eyes closed for 30 minutes.
6.  An average man will spend 25 years asleep.
7. There are 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days (366 days in leap year), 525600, 31,536,000 seconds in a year.
I want to believe by now you have successfully itemised your goals for the year. However, the difference between today and the supposed day in the year for goal accomplishment is Time.

How Best Can You Maximise Your Time?
1.       Realise you have less than 24 hours (in reality, 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4.2 seconds) to yourself. Subtract your sleep hours and/or work hours then what is left is all you have to yourself per day.

2.       Deliberately break down your specific goal set into tiny (un)comfortable bits and apportion them to available time per day. For example, if you intend to shed 10kg of your weight by March 2017. Break it down to a daily target of 2-3 hours of exercise/other relevant weight loss programme and you would be surprised to find yourself meet up with your goals in record time. 
“Transform a wish into a goal by putting a date on it.” – Peter Turla

3.       What is worth doing at all is worth doing well. Never say, I just want to give it a trial. Take whatever task you have at hand with all seriousness and endeavour you do put in all your best with all diligence. Otherwise, it would all amount to wasted time with nothing gained but energy, time and/or resources wastefully exerted.

“It’s not how many things you start that make you successful. It’s how many worthwhile things you finish.” – Peter Turla

4.       It is not enough to think through daily tasks/goals but to follow through them all. Endeavour you complete daily tasks within stipulated time. This will ensure efficiency and prevent time encroachment into other relevant tasks for the day.

5.       Multitasking is not an effective time management technique. Studies show that when you multitask your brain has to turn on and then off every time it attends a new task. This is an inefficient use of energy.

6.       Concentrate and harness your energy on the most important task per time. Drifting on less important issues would distract you from your target and amount to eventual waste.

“Don’t get side-tracked stomping on ants when you have elephants to feed.” – Peter Turla

7.       Do not let people or things decide how you spend your time daily. Rather, decide how you spend your time on people and tasks daily.

“Time is the most valuable coin in your life. You and you alone will determine how that coin will be spent. Be careful that you do not let other people spend it for you.” - Katerina Klemer

8.       You will use your time more effectively if you align your most important tasks with peaks in your bio-rhythm. Are you an owl or a fowl? Do you work better in the morning or in the evening? Find out when you work best and try to protect that time for your most important activities.

9.       Lastly, subject yourself to daily review of your activities. Pick out the portion where you’ve failed to adequately maximise your time and improve on it. Reward yourself every time you manage to scale through the day within your pre-set time target.

However, all these can be quite daunting but nonetheless achievable. Achievements are not rocket science. They are down to absolute assertiveness, diligence, and doggedness.
I will leave you with this Quote by Michael Altshuler
"The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot."

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