NATURE'S WAY

"Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished."

Lao Tzu, 6th century BC Chinese philosopher.

Not so people.

We hurry to catch up when we've allowed ourselves to fall behind.

Nature's way, the better way.

SURE, THERE'S STILL TIME, BUT HOW MUCH?

"Remember, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday."

Dale Carnegie (1888-1955) American writer.

The day you look back on what you should have done yesterday.

Nothing will get done yesterday.

THE AGREED UPON TIME

"Better three hours too soon than a minute too late."

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) British poet/playwright.

While not being on time is occasionally a good thing, such as when you arrive late and miss a flight that later crashes, that's about it.

You won't get ahead if you don't plan to and actually do get there on time.

THE BEST YOU CAN BE . . . ON TIME!

"Tomorrow do thy worst, I have lived today."

John Dryden

17th century British poet, dramatist and critic

Substitute "done all I could" for "lived" and this is the essence of time management.

How Much Time Do We Have Left?

"Nothing is to be rated higher than the value of the day."

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Late 18th/early 19th century German poet/author

And still we often wish the day would end.

We can't include time on our balance sheets even though it is the one asset which often has most to do with our success or failure.

The Day Ahead

"The first hour of the morning is the rudder of the day."

Henry Ward Beecher

19th century American politician

Because, if you use it for such, it will set the course for all the hours that will follow.

It's product . . .  the day's agenda.

Maybe Tomorrow

"Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task."

William James

19th century American philosopher/psychologist

Nor as inefficient in the use of resources.

Have you ever considered how much of your company's time and money is wasted by not completing important tasks as soon as possible?

If Only I Had The Time . . . You Do!

"Time is the only critic without ambition."

John Steinbeck

American author

You can complain about not having enough time but in the end, how much you do versus what you say you will do is completely up to you.

Time Enough

"Time stays long enough for those who use it."

Leonardo da Vinci

Thinking back over my career, I believe "I didn't have enough time" was the number one reason my direct reports gave me when they hadn't completed something when expected.

Sometimes they were stating fact and they didn't have enough time; however, I doubt that was true in less than 1 out of 5 cases.

The other times?  They simply didn't manage themselves well enough (and yes that applies to me as well.)

How about you?

I Didn't Have Enough Time

"I don't wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work."

Pearl S. Buck

Ms. Buck is telling us we don't have the luxury of waiting until the moment is "right", or any other time related expression/excuse as to why we didn't accomplish our goals.

To quote Larry the Cable Guy, "Get 'er done!"

Do you?

Time: The Clock is Ticking

"Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend."

Theophrastus
Third Century BC Greek Philosopher

If people were worrying about time 300 plus years before the birth of Christ, you know what they think now. But worrying and taking action are two different things.

And talk about limited resources. 8,760 hours a year, no more nor less, of which conventional wisdom says 2,000 will be devoted to work.

Most of my clients worry quite a bit about conserving and managing cash, human resources, facilities, equipment, etc. but I don't see the same concern expressed about time management.

How about you?

Meetings: The Cost of Time

"Unfaithfulness in the keeping of an appointment is an act of clear dishonesty. You may as well borrow a person's money as his time."

Horace Mann

As one who sells consulting services to others I am used to clients being late for our meetings and calls . Not sure but I think there is some federal law that says they must; the same law that says consultants like me have to be on time.

So I adjust but what about the rest of you who just work together? Is everyone always on time or as I suspect often late? What is the cost in terms of inefficiency and lost production?

What works and what doesn't in terms of minimizing the problem?