Make up for lost time

Make up for lost time

Time – One resource that we all have in equal quantum. At least as long as we exist alongside one another. One second for me is just as long as it is for you, or the guy next door. It is the same for the most powerful person and the most sanctimonious dignitary. Time the one resource we just cannot deny our possession of.

We have all misused, wasted and spoilt this resource in our time, none can deny that. Yet some of us are more conscious of the value of the loss, some are not. According to a global survey the average human admits to wasting more than two hours a day while at work. Not to mention the hours wasted and unaccounted for.

Interruptions Steal Precious Time. The average worker experiences fifty interruptions a day? These are phone calls, people stopping by your office, and so on. Some are these interruptions are work-related, of course, but many are time-wasters. The first step to reducing interruptions is to recognize them. If you want to know how to stop wasting time, focus on reducing your interruptions.

It may help to tell the interrupters a journal on their desks to record them. Jot down things like “Raj called to schedule Saturday’s party, took 5 minutes” or “Rajni stopped by talk about the illness of her neighbour, 12 minutes.” Then, after a few days, take a look at your list. How many of these interruptions involve your work priorities? How can you reduce or eliminate those that don’t?

One approach may be not answering your phone or keeping your door shut from nine until 11 a.m. each morning. I had also changed the position of my desk so it didn’t face the doorway. If a colleague is a chronic interrupter, you might say, “I’m up against a deadline. Let’s talk about the other matters at lunch.”

Of course there is a counter to this. There will always be an endless list of chores to complete and work to do, and a culture of relentless productivity tells us to get to it right away and feel terribly guilty about any time wasted. But the truth is, a life spent dutifully responding to emails is a dull one indeed. And “wasted” time is, in fact, highly fulfilling and necessary. The problem comes when we spend so long frantically chasing productivity, we refuse to take real breaks. We put off sleeping in, or going for a long walk, or reading by the window—and, even if we do manage time away from the grind, it comes with a looming awareness of the things we should be doing, and so the experience is weighed down by guilt.

Instead, there’s a tendency to turn to the least fulfilling tendency of them all: Sitting at our desk, in front of our computer, browsing websites and contributing to neither our happiness nor our productivity.

Sometimes even the activities that are meant to be a treat—watching a movie, or going for a run—can be weighed down by a sense of responsibility. This guilt comes from not managing your time effectively. There ought to be a clear divide between work and recreation. It needs to be understood that even recreation and enjoyment is productive. There should be a clear cut time span for both. It need be remembered that just sitting watching the birds fly by is also productive time. This is when one’s creative instincts come alive and offers new thoughts and ideas.

The next problem is strict divisions. It is best to make allowances for time spent on each side. Even if it is entertainment or your regular productivity hours, give or take a few. It is in realizing that every aspect of your life has its own value and your productivity is not measured by the hours you spend at your desk, but rather what effect your contribution has to the end result that matters. Sometimes even the idleness make you a better worker.

Time lost can never be made up. You can never even be sure that the time spent was indeed “wasted” or creatively gained or not. The best thing to do is not to bother about time lost. In reality, as long as there is life, no time is ever lost. It is time lived. Just don’t bother.