“Much may be done in those little shreds and patches of time which every day produces, and which most men throw away.”
- Charles Caleb Colton
Without a planner, a to-do list and proper prioritization, it is nearly impossible to effectively utilize the time in between larger activities. The downtime that most people try to “kill” adds up to massive amounts when accumulated over long periods. For example, if you are a student, say you have 15 minutes every morning between your first two classes. What do you do during this time? Do you simply loiter in a lobby area? Many students do. Do you really need relaxation time after only one class, or do you simply tell yourself that in order to justify your inability to harness those 15 minutes every day?
Let’s look at some math. If you simply sit and daydream, or listen to your iPod for those 15 minutes everyday, it will add up as follows:
You attend school nine months out of the year. That adds up to approximately 36 weeks of school.
Five days of class per week, multiplied by 36 weeks equals 180 days spent in class.
180 days of class, multiplied by 15 minutes per day, adds up to 2,700 minutes each school year.
2,700 minutes equals 45 hours.
“You may delay, but time will not.”
- Benjamin Franklin
Therefore, by wasting those 15 minutes every morning, for just one year of school, you have wasted the equivalent of more than an entire week of working a full time job, on absolutely nothing.
If you waste those 45 hours per school year, over the course of a four year program, you will have wasted over one month of working a full time job, or 180 hours total.
This obviously applies not only to students, but to everyone! How many of us waste small chunks of time, such as 15 minutes per day, day after day, with little regard for how much they add up in the end? Are you a struggling mother? Perhaps you sit outside of school in your car listening to your radio for 15 minutes each day while you wait for your kids to get out. Think of how many good child-raising books you could learn from in that time. Are you a teacher? Think of how many papers you could grade! Are you a hard manual-laborer? Think of how good it would be for your body to practice deep-relaxation / meditation and stretching during that time!
What could be done with this time that will make it productive for you? The answer to that question is subjective depending on the person, however, I will provide you with some recommendations...
This excerpt is taken from Ways and Means of Time Management.
Continue to read the entire book for yourself!
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