So Where Does Time Go?

By Harry Peasley

Time is something many wish they had more of. But I wonder - would one want more time if they had a flat tire on the way to an important meeting? Would they want more time if they were being reprimanded for something out of their control? People usually want more time when they don’t have much available. I watched a movie recently, About Schmidt, where the lead character just retired. He had plenty of time on his hands – so what did he do? He was ready to go back to work hoping they needed his expertise. That was a very slow movie – I didn’t want more time while I was watching it, but I kept waiting for something good to happen. While there were a few funny parts, I would suggest you not take up your valuable time.

I think about the old saying, "time flies when you’re having fun" and begin to think about places I have fun in or events that are fun for me. I love Disneyland (and Disney World, but it's farther to travel). But if I were there everyday, would I feel the same – well – let me think of different situation. I thoroughly enjoy working with and helping others. Some would say I have a passion for personal and organizational growth. To me, there's nothing better than watching a plan come together. But if that were all I did, would life be perfect? In a perfect world where time isn't a factor, I would think it to be boring and mundane. I sometimes think of what life would be like as Adam and Eve. It's possible I can't comprehend a perfect lifestyle because I've spent so much time in this one. Maybe there's a possibility Adam and Eve couldn't stand the perfect lifestyle either. Otherwise Eve would have left that dog gone snake alone and not listened to its advice. That, of course is a can of worms I'm not touching. I've come to realize in my life the perfect world is what one makes of it. Now that's not to say I live in a less than perfect world, but if we are honest with ourselves, we all have our challenges.

It seems lately, I've talked with many people who are unhappy with their "time management." Consistently I get questions like: "How can I fit more into my day?" or "I feel so out of balance." or "I can't squeeze anything into my schedule and I have so much to do." These are real issues! I have many answers to those questions and phrases, but I'm not convinced time management's the problem. Many people are fairly good at managing their time. I believe the real issue is more around alignment than balance as the earlier phrase suggests. Balance is an odd metaphor for time. Balance infers people need equal parts for their life to feel whole. I'm not convinced balance is what one needs, but alignment is. Alignment is where one feels inner peace and harmony when all the divisions of one's life are in order. True alignment occurs when a person really understand what they value. I know people who are workaholics. They will devote everything to what they do and are happy as a "pig in slop" when they're working. Everything around them can be falling down, but when they're at work they thrive. Are they out of alignment? Maybe they are and maybe they're not. But if they are truly happy working, they’ve probably found their alignment. My point is the "scale" is different for everybody. Balance means when you spend time in one area, another area loses. Alignment is the opportunity to find another way to spend time doing both or what matters most to you.

In managing time, one is really controlling a series of events that happen in a given time frame. For instance, I drive my children to school daily. That drive takes a total of 30 minutes per day on average, which translates to 2 hours and 30 minutes per week. If I need to pick up some time for myself, they can take the bus. Why don't they take the bus now? Those 2 hours and 30 minutes per week is time I have to spend with them talking about life, school, friendships, etc. The time is very valuable and my alignment is to be a father to my children. The point is if I really need the time for other things, I can take it and I've controlled that event. Now if there's an accident on our drive route, that's an event I have no control over and my time management has flown out the window. Worse yet, what if I was in that accident? Then I have many other events I’d have to deal with. Managing time has to do with planning, prioritizing and acting upon those things you’ve identified to do. When other things get in the way, you look at the overall plan, re-prioritize and act upon those things you’ve identified to do.

To properly control the events in your life, it's best to look at your events on a weekly basis. Weekly works best because things change too quickly on a daily basis. Monthly is good for some things, but lacks the detail you need to properly control events and make adjustments you might need. Below is a list of common areas in a typical person's day. You can create a similar template for yourself. Think about the amount of hours you use in a typical week. This worksheet is an example of a typical week. The titles are areas you can think about as you imagine your personal time management.

After analyzing how much you spend, remember ALL of us have 168 hours in a week. If your number is higher than 168, you have some explaining to do. If your number is lower, you may be wasting some time or not putting time fairly in an allocated area. For you really analytical folks, take 7 days out of your schedule and write down everything you do as you do it. After the 7 days, total up your hours and see where your time goes. Most of you will like the easy method better, but it's not as precise.

Alignment comes from within and revolves setting short-term and long-term goals. Some of you might not have put any time into planning. If you didn't, you're surviving life. The fire fighters learned this lesson years ago. In the early years, fire fighters fought fires – that was their job. They learned to properly fight fires, fire fighters spend time going to schools educating children what to do in case of a fire and fire prevention. They spend countless hours staying physically fit in the event they have to run out on an emergency. They do controlled burns in areas that can become high risk. In other words, they do a lot of proactive work as to not worry about the emergency of a fire. Why? Because when they’re always fighting fires, the stress level is out of sight. They fight real fires (the unplanned ones) about 2 percent of the time because of their good planning, short and long term goal setting and acting on their plan. When we're out of alignment we don't plan, take care of ourselves, etc., we become "burned out." Just playing around with the firefighter analogy…

To find "your" alignment, here are some thoughts:

• Take some time out of your schedule and make an investment in yourself. Find out what makes you tick, what you value, what's your purpose. Doing this may sound contradictory to managing your time better, but the reality is you're not going to get it ALL done. Better to do what's important.
• After you've invested that time in yourself, make a plan. My guess is if you've done a good job of self-analysis, you're probably not where you want to be. If that's the case, you know where you are now; your plan is how you get to where you want to be. For instance, if you work in a grocery store but your lifelong dream is to be an accountant. You will feel out of alignment. The good news is you can do something about your situation. Locate a school, talk with a counselor, take some classes, an exam or two, plot out how many years it might take, etc.
  
• Start planning weekly and make the investment in your plan. By planning weekly, you will see a bigger picture. Your appointments and fixed time will be in better perspective and the little things that get in the way can take a back seat for the things that will make your tomorrow better.
  
• Plan daily to adjust your weekly plan. Even the best laid out plans need adjustment to stay on track to the goal.
  
• Know that it will be difficult to complete, but it will be impossible if you don't start.

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Yours is a journey worth investing some time in. Nobody feels good when they look at the pain it takes to reach New Heights, however everybody feels good when they see the benefits of achieving New Heights. So - where does time go? To your future – whether you like it or not.

Copyright 2004, New Heights