The reason I enjoyed this book was that the author was able to elaborate on time management beyond just systems and principles to make you work faster and better. He showed we can only efficiently manage our time when we understand our priorities and the goals for our lives.
As a student who was affected by the war in Ukraine, it became almost practically impossible to process a transfer to another university in Europe and I was faced with the option of switching courses. There are professions out there that pay much better than doctors and honestly, the workload is not as much. I thought of switching to IT courses because I found a good number of universities in Europe offering such courses with no tuition fee. I even started the admission process on some of them and I got admission into two; an IT course with no tuition fee in one of the biggest cities in Europe with the likelihood of getting a job very possible.
In his book, he gave this quote from Barack Obama:
“Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a poverty of ambition.
It asks too little of yourself.
And it will leave you unfulfilled”
He says to focus on what motivates you, the things you would like to achieve and what personal fulfillment means to you.
I gave this much thought, and I understood I would get the most personal fulfillment from medicine. Waking up every morning and having the opportunity to make someone’s life better really motivates me.
The author emphasizes that how you spend your time should be in line with what you want out of life & what goals you have. Understanding your overall priorities will then translate into the way you go about managing your time.
It means that before you even think about managing time, you should have defined your goals.
How do we define what our goals are?
Here are 5 D’s to think about when we are determining our goals;
1. Drive: Think about what really fires you up. What gives you energy and a great sense of fulfillment?
2. Dream: What have you always wanted to do? Where do you see yourself in a year or even 5 years from now?
3. Develop: What natural skills or abilities do you have that you can develop further?
4. Discuss: Chat through your answers with friends to know if you’re being honest or completely unrealistic to yourself.
5. Define: Set clear and positive goals. Think about what the next step should be to fulfill the goals and aims that you have set yourself.
A useful exercise here would be to prepare a pattern diagram. This is a diagram we creatively draw that captures what we perceive to be the key aspect of our goals:
I. Take a blank sheet of paper and arrange it in landscape format.
II. Write your central goal in the middle of the paper
III. Write around that central word and other keywords that relate to it.
IV. Keep branching out various aspects of the goal that come into your mind.
V. If you get stuck at any point, answer these fundamental questions; Who? Why? Where? What? When? and how?. Doing this stimulates your thinking process and at this point, do not reject any thought that comes to mind.
With these exercises, we should have an idea of what our goals are and what it is we want out of life, and then the micro-habits that draw us closer to them.
So where does time management fall in? By increasing the time we give to these micro-habits.
How do we do this?
- By knowing when we work best:
Each one of us has a period during the day when we work best. It could be early morning, the mid-morning after breakfast, after lunch, or in the evening. You should do the most important task or the most difficult work when you are most alert—giving your most focused time to these micro-habits.
- By keeping your focus on one micro-habit at a time:
Resist the urge to take on the sudden unplanned task. Your target should be to complete a task rather than to fill a length of time.
- By doing your micro-habits regardless of your feelings of apathy:
Learn to challenge the thoughts that prevent or stop you from moving on and actually completing a task. Thoughts like: I don’t feel like doing it, I don’t know where to begin; I don’t feel like working; It is boring, I’m afraid I will fail, etc.
- Keep a diary:
A diary helps you properly plan your micro-habits into your day and keep track of the things you are doing. It helps you take control of how you spend your time.
- Work SMART:
Your micro-habits should be
S = Specific: Not vague but clear and precise
M = Measurable: The micro-habits should be quantifiable in some way so that you can access the progress you’re making
A = Achievable: You need to focus on goals that are realistic and possible
R = Relevant: Look at the micro-habit in the context of your wider plans. Is it a valuable part of it?
T = Timed: Have a definite time of completion.
- Learn to say NO:
If you say yes every time someone asks you to help them with a task, you will never learn to manage your time properly. Part of effective time management is remaining in control of the work you have to do. You, therefore need to learn to assert yourself and at times say no.
In his book, he gave this and numerous other points on how to manage your time
.
Time management varies with different people because the goals people have for their lives vary and along with that, their habits. Organize your time around habits that bring you closer to your goals.
My favorite paragraph in the book-
“Before you start looking at how you spend your time, it is very useful to think about your life more widely. Do you have a clear vision for your life? What are you most passionate about? Answering these questions will help you decide on what really matters in life and so how you choose to spend your time”