Time Management

Do we understand how much time a task takes?

Introduction

“You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.” Mark Twain

Do we need to manage time? Or do we need to manage how we waste time? Or do we need to understand how much time a task takes? Do we underestimate/overestimate how much time a task takes?

“One can find time for everything if one is never in a hurry.” -Mikhail Bulgakov

It is amazing how much we can achieve in one minute or even five minutes. But, in today’s world of notifications and mobile phones at the ready, I feel most of us no longer know what one minute is, let alone how much we can achieve in a minute. I know I have, which has led me to overestimate/underestimate the time a task takes. And then there is the issue of how much time we lose on Social Media. 

The only way we can get a handle on understanding time is to time every activity we do. This will provide us with the proof we need to see, and it will help us understand where we underestimate, overestimate, waste time or correctly estimate the time it takes to do something. 

Try the Following Experiments

1. Experiment with ironing for only 15 minutes; how many clothes did you iron? How many clothes are outstanding that you can spend 15 minutes tomorrow doing? 
2. Washing the dishes for 1O minute only, did it take ten minutes or less? Were there any dishes remaining? 
3. Tidy up the living room for 5 minutes; what did you achieve? Make your bed; how long did it take? 
4. Hang up your coat and put your shoes away when you get in the house; how long did it take? 
5. Time yourself on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, snap chat, etc.; how much time do you spend on these social media platforms? Was that a constructive use of time? Or were you supposed to do something else? !?
6. Time yourself writing that report or email that you need to send out; how long did that take? Was it as bad as you thought it might be?
7. Do you always need to spend 20 mins in the shower/bath? For a few days to try finishing your bath in 10 minutes, including brushing your teeth. Can you do it? How much time did you save?
8. Ladies, try and get your make-up done in 10 minutes max each day. Can you ? and how does it feel to save that time?

When we measure our time like this, we understand how much time is actually spent on a task.

Conclusion

Our laziness and procrastination arise from the feeling that a task is overwhelming or will take ages. In today’s age of notifications and triggers, I feel we have confused a second with a minute. I know I have, and because of that, I have procrastinated when I should have just got on with it.

“Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday and avoiding today.” — Wayne Dyer

Quote Sources — click here: 

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© 2023 Thoughtsnlifeblog  Originally posted in September 2016. complete rewrite on 10.2.2023 and also published on Medium

Images:  www.freeimages.com, my own, google or from Instagram.