Time Management

Time Management

I had the privilege to listen to President Bill Clinton, whilst he was visiting Mumbai. When I looked around in the audience, I wondered what is it that distinguishes a leader like Mr Clinton from the rest of us sitting in the audience.

Mr Clinton has served as President of USA for nearly a decade and prior to that as Governor of Arkansas. Subsequent to serving in office, he has established the Clinton Foundation to make a difference in society in areas where he believes often government is not able to maximize its reach. He flew into India 4 hours before the talk and was there on the podium engaged and charismatic as ever. He has evolved with time, whilst being committed to his vision of public service.

“The common man is not concerned about the passage of time, a man of talent is driven by it”, Schopenhauer.

I recall some years ago when I had finished giving my CA final exams, I took 2 days off because I felt the desperate need to recuperate. My manager was appalled because he was used to doing a round trip across the globe for meetings and not taking even an hour off.  It was indeed a lesson learnt.

Many of us have dreams and many of us even walk the road to pursue our dreams. Time is the one resource that we all been given in equal terms – 24 hours in a day. How we use that time is what makes all the difference. I often start my day around 630am and keep hoping for the clock to go slower to be able to snatch an extra wink. It’s an on going struggle between the ticking clock and the desire to chat on the phone with a friend, have a lazy coffee, watch a movie or spend time with the kids versus doing something to make a difference in the world.

Sachin Tendulkar, one of the greatest batsman of today is known to practice for hours on end in the nets. His dedication and training enable him to remain unfazed on the field and face any ball. His level of focus and commitment is an inspiration to the team and others. Time for him is a precious resource to be used wisely and unflinchingly. I’m sure he too likes to take a vacation, spend a leisurely weekend with his family and put his feet up and read a book or listen to music. The pertinent question that remains to be answered are how often and for how long does he indulge in himself versus his commitment?

“Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent.” Carl Sandburg

Time is resource and it is not limitless. Every moment in the past, is a moment lost or gained. Time cannot be rewound or recalled. We however, have the power to choose and decide how to use this resource in the present. 

As a coach, while working with one of the senior executives, the issue was “I am feeling pressured and I don’t have enough time!”  What I listened to and heard was the word, “feeling”. I asked him, if he felt out of depth to manage the challenges of the role that he had taken on. The immediate response was, “of course not, I know I can do it”. This response itself, reduced the sense of overwhelm and opened his mind to look for solutions. The question was capability versus capacity and we needed to work on creating capacity. His business environment is very dynamic and it requires crisis management moment to moment. There is sense of emotional assault due to the constant unknown. He has a preference for structure and hence, there was an immediate need to create structure in this unstructured environment. We introduced a half hour slot every morning to walk alone and mentally plan, analyze and prepare for the day ahead. Secondly, he started to be more discerning and ruthless before saying, “yes” to every interruption and prioritizing where his time was being spent. These consistent practices have significantly helped him discipline his day and create time effectively. In fact, he is now able to manage his role better and is also ready to stretch himself to take on higher responsibilities. To summarize what created time was:

·   Planning
·      Analyzing
·      Preparing
·      Prioritizing
·      Consistency
·      And above all, Action

To achieve such consistency and discipline, there is a constant need to be self-aware.  Ask yourself, what is my relationship with time?

·     Who am I being in this moment - am I being wishful, fearful, desirous of miracles, wasteful, irresponsible or am I being action and solution oriented.

·      How productive am I, what am I doing with my time?

·      Am I utilizing my time in line with my vision of life?

Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Steve Jobs and Mahatma Gandhi are legendary leaders who continue to inspire. What did they do differently when neither time nor the environment was in their favour? They took responsibility and decided to be in control of time rather than allow time to control them.

I have commonly observed that ever since the global financial crisis, many executives, especially in financial services have been waiting for time to reverse. On the other hand, entrepreneurs in the technology and social media have maximized the opportunity by accepting the paucity of resources and recognizing the need to stay connected and supported as an opportunity. We need to accept “this is it” and adapt to the changing time to turn the tide by seeing opportunities rather than problems.

“Until we can manage time we can manage nothing else”, Peter Drucker