The many ways in which people use time is something that is incredibly diverse, yet is driven by very similar needs and reasoning, transcending all nations and cultures.
If you are familiar with Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs, then you understand the five basic needs of any individual. For the sake of how it applies to time management, it is important that you understand it. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is as follows.
Physical Needs
Physical needs provide the very basis of our survival and existence as humans. Before being able to satisfy any higher needs, an individual must first satisfy their physical needs. These include very basic needs, such as air, water, sleep, food and shelter. Sex is also partially included within physical needs - as our main “biological” purpose in life is to survive and replicate. All of us, at a subconscious level, are driven to keep our basic needs satisfied at all times. We become very uncomfortable, sick, and even die if these needs are not met.
Safety Needs
Safety needs are basic - shortly above physical needs. They arise from the earliest times - instinctively, we seek to keep our bodies safe in order to ensure our survival. We naturally seek a secure environment, and possibly someone to protect us. Early man had to worry about prowling animals and enemy tribes attacking him – thus, after he ensured he was stable enough to survive physically, (water, food and shelter) he would find ways to protect himself. This included creating weapons, or perhaps fortifying his shelter. Safety needs are also heavily psychological. In many violent intercity environments, dysfunctional families are common. A large part of this can be attributed to the fact that before love and a sense of belonging can be developed, family members must first feel secure in their environment.
Need to Belong
Humans are social creatures. Instinctively, we seek to be around others, particularly those who are similar to us. After a human’s safety needs are met and they feel comfortable, they begin to seek companionship. Being loved and belonging to a group helps people reaffirm their beliefs and helps them to solidify the sometimes shaky essence of their very own existence.
Humans have a desire to not only love and be loved, in a peer sense, or in a sexual sense, but to also belong to a group of others similar to themselves. People flock to clubs, causes, clicks, cultural affinity congregations, gangs, fraternal organizations and religious orders. Most importantly, people seek to be part of a family. In a family, not only can they experience the social benefits of a group, but also the form of love which can only be experienced when one is a member of a family.
Esteem Needs
After all the more basic needs have been met, a human seeks to gain esteem. First, a person seeks “self” esteem. You may gain self esteem by mastering a task, for example. When you feel you are the best at a task, or create a great piece of work, you feel good about what you have done – you feel good about yourself. After you experience self-esteem, you may decide to show off your skill to your friends. At the point when others recognize your skill and compliment you for it, you experience “external” esteem. “Being good at something” helps a person to justify their existence, while seeking outside admiration relates to the desire for power. People who feel exceptionally good about their own abilities may flaunt them, in order to exhibit power over others and ultimately to raise their social status.
Self-Actualization
The need for self-actualization is the highest of all the needs. When one achieves self-actualization, they maximize their own potential, experience true inner happiness, and thus have all their needs fulfilled. All other needs must be fulfilled before self-actualization can be achieved – with exceptions of course, as with all the needs. Self-actualization is when an individual maximizes their potential – finding true meaning in their own life and often seeking emotionally enlightening or eye-opening experiences. It is the development of true inner happiness, and the seeking of emotional perfection in one’s life.
Self-Evolution is the utilization of your past, present, and most importantly, your own mind to develop your future and to achieve self-actualization – to live a happy and fulfilling life. Our company’s very purpose is to offer the tools necessary to shape your mind to assist you in achieving self-actualization.
Now that you understand Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, it is easy to understand its application to the way you use your time.
People spend their time according to their needs.
You spend your time according to your needs.
How much time do you spend each day meeting your physical needs? How much time do you spend each day meeting your self-actualization needs? When viewing where people spend their time in relation to the five needs, it is possible to guess what kind of situation the person may be experiencing in their life. If a person has certain needs met, they will not waste more time satisfying those needs. If they are unable to satisfy a certain need, particularly a basic need, they will invest time in that area in order to remain comfortable. Take a look at the needs the following people spend their time trying to meet...
This excerpt is taken from Ways and Means of Time Management.
Continue to read the entire book for yourself!
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