One of my peeves is listening to someone tell me how ‘busy’ they are; how they do not have time for ____________ (fill in the blank.)

Many of us are busy, and many of the really busy do not have near the resources that the ‘busy bitchers’ whine about.

We all get 24 hours in a day. We all must chose how we want to spend it. There is always enough time to do what is important.

Richard Koch in “the 80/20 Principle” notes, ” There is no shortage of time. In fact we are positively awash in it. We only make good use of 20% of our time. And for the most talented individuals it is often tiny amounts of time that make all the difference.”

We waste time by acting without thinking or planning. “Action drives out thought.” We are seduced by the urgent over the important. An hour spent quietly thinking or reading can save days of action. We should ponder what does not need to be done as well as what does.

Cell phones, text messaging, and e-mails create an intrusive power of the urgent. Like much techonology, if you do not learn how to control and use them, they will be used against you.

print