Christmas is a time for family, a time for giving to others and a time for reflection.
The word ‘time’ is important here. Most of us just don’t have enough time to do what we would really like to do… or is it, in our quest to save time, we end up being increasingly time poor?
I remember a few years ago speaking to a friend who had an iPad and I asked “what do you want one of those for”? He said “it’s so convenient, it’s dead easy to access information quickly”. Yes, that’s right, I ended up getting one and he was right about it being so easy….so easy to spend half your life on it!
I find myself chastising my boys at home about spending too much time on their electronic gadgets, especially their phones. Quite rightly, my wife says; “well you’re not exactly setting the right example are you”?
I am now writing down how much time I spend in an evening on the iPad and limiting myself to 15 minutes max. Guess what? I find myself with more time to do other things!
The other battle I have had was with my diary system. Over the years I’ve had a tendency to be somewhat of a slave to the diary (especially in its electronic form), but with good organisation I ‘came off the drugs’!
Business people tend to be the worst in my experience. Surely we owe it to ourselves, our families, our colleagues and our customers, to be the best we can. If we are feeling fraught and stressed, surely at best, we feel mediocre….and when we feel like this … you’ve guessed it…we tend to have a mediocre impact on people around us!
These so called time saving devices have, in truth, eaten into our time. E-mails are a prime example. Why make a phone call when an e-mail trail of ten different communications will do?
The first step to freeing up more time is recognising the issue. The second step is doing something about it
If you are constantly battling with your diary it would be worth reading a blog from Andy Bounds which came out this week entitled the ‘Christmas gift of time’
Remember, it’s quality time we are after. Over the festive period and the New Year celebrations, think positively about how you can become more time rich and then do something about it.
