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Time Management Story

Time is a unique commodity that is given equally to everyone regardless of age or station. Time always moves at a predetermined and constant rate, but no one ever seems to have enough time. Since we can’t create more time, we must conserve the time allotted to us. This is where the time management story becomes critical.

All businesses carefully record their financial assets. However, these financial statements never mention one of the company’s most vital and irreplaceable assets- time. Since it does not appear as an entry on the company’s operating statements, time is taken for granted. Time management attitudes and practices are often casual and lax, almost an afterthought. Time management story tells us that time is money, in which case it should be treated as a precious, nonrenewable resource. Time should receive the same intense monitoring that occurs with other assets.

The subject of time management story provides the reader with fascinating insights into human traits and habits. Time management is generally perceived as being synonymous with neatness, organization and a very structured daily routine. These factors are all elements of greater efficiency. However, time management is more complex than that. It is a frame of mind. It is an attitude of personal commitment and, more importantly, a dramatic reordering of priorities and work habits.

Time management story emphasizes on the relative importance of time. Unless time is managed, nothing else can be managed. Most time management ideas are common sense but not common practice. Improved time management does increase productivity and overall performance. It can also improve morale as employees become more effective and more satisfied with the use of their time. Time management story focuses on accountability. Many executives believe that their tasks are so varied that time management principles are useless to them. The assumption is that time management practices are more suited to repetitive production line tasks. Certainly the tasks required of the executive are heterogeneous in content, but the management process is quite repetitive. In today’s competitive environment, managers who misuse their time are at a distinct disadvantage.

As the executive progresses up the corporate ladder, a transformation must occur: that is, from the process of doing to that of managing. Many find this as a difficult challenge. The executive’s additional responsibilities require a shift from the utilization of things to the utilization of people and things. Each promotion requires a greater degree of managing if the manager is to use his or her increasingly larger pool of human resources effectively. These processes, and the resulting benefits, are generally misunderstood by most executives. However, many resist full delegation, and, as a result, they fail to utilize their own time effectively.

The major objective of the time management story for the executive is to create more discretionary time, the only part of the day that the executive can control and really call his or her own. Discretionary time is necessary for conceptualizing, planning and creative problem solving. The time management story does not provide solutions to management problems. It does, however provide the discretionary time in which the manager can find those solutions, plan for the future, and assess overall progress.

The area of time management is rapidly becoming more important in both the private lives of individuals and in the corporate structure. The purpose of this time management story is to examine the human aspects of changing attitudes toward a better managing of the valuable resource of time. The object of time management is to increase and optimize the use of your discretionary time.