Our lives are a mixture of strings pulling us in multiple directions at all points of time. And because we've constantly been in motion.. rushing through our lives, the term "time" was something that had to be managed rather than optimised.
Now the words managing and optimising can seem similar but have far-reaching differences in approach when it comes to time. Managing your time is often an exercise to get a varied set of stuff done while the world moves faster than we can most times handle and to optimise is to truly use it as a resource that is valued and used only if truly needed.
"It's your time, be selfish about it"
-Satya Nadella
If 2020 has taught us anything or made us think about one thing, its to look at what we do with our time. It's truly made us think about how we spend our time and analysing if this is the most optimal usage of this most finite resource in our lives. It's made us question the choices we've made in the past about not just how we spend it but also about how we plan for what we believe is our future. And so planning for "when we're older" has suddenly become " I should use what time I have now on things that matter rather than putting it off for a future that I have no control over".
Now, this doesn't mean.. we give up on our professional ambitions or that our careers suddenly take a back seat. It means we need to treat time as a resource that needs to be optimised for us... so it's not one thing you want to do vs the other, rather its what needs to be done now & by you vs what doesn't. So, I thought before we end the year I'd throw a framework at you that just might help you optimise your time and what you do with it.
But, before we get to it let me tell you a story from my past, which will give you a necessary filter to apply to the framework.
It was 2004-05 and I was sitting in the last round of interviews for what would go on to be my master's course in mass communication. The then director of the institute noticed that I had a slightly non-traditional background to be doing a course in mass communication. I had, after all, spent 4+ years pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering, I had post that (or rather towards the end of it) chosen to work as a promoter for a bunch of alco-beverage companies and even as a call centre executive for AOL ... and now I wanted to study Public relations ( i eventually switched that to audiovisual communication early into the course but that's a story for another day).. so he asked me a question which I'm guessing anyone seeking to find some sort of focus in me would ask
" Of all the resources we have at our disposal, time is the most finite. So, aren't you going to waste the last 4+ years of it by switching streams from engineering to communications?"
to which I responded
" Everything we do in life, every experience, every action and reaction gives you something of value.. nothing is truly useless. So, the fact that my path has been different means my experiences have been different and what I've gained from them has been different. It gives me an edge over others, rather than a disadvantage "
So, never discount what your experiences have been, rather understand what the learning's from them are. ( this is an important filter to keep in mind while doing the following exercise )
Now, onto the framework...
Put down a table like the one below,
It'll have three columns... professional-creator- personal
Three rows.. what I enjoy, what I don't, what else
Write down what you enjoy, what you don't and what more you want to do in your professional, creator and personal lives. ( Try to keep it to a maximum of 5 points each). This forms the foundation of the exercise.
Now add two more rows to it, what makes you want to not do the stuff you don't and what do you need to make time for the "what else" stuff you want to do.
Take this sheet, run through it, edit it, scribble around it and most importantly digest it. The more true you are to yourself in putting these down the more you will be able to look at what to prioritise, what to delegate, what to quit and what to invest time in. Because not everything needs to be done right away or pushed to a time when you're ready to do it perfectly, not everything needs to be done by you alone, life & meaningful experiences don’t have to follow a designated/ liner path and everything personal isn't last priority. Happiness is a variable output of time optimally spent that we often forget about...so use this to understand how you increase your happiness index.
"More than your salary. More than the size of your house. More than the prestige of your job. Control over doing what you want, when you want to, with the people you want to, is the broadest lifestyle variable that makes people happy."
From "the Psychology of Money" by Morgan housel
So, use this time before we hit 2021 to make this life board. It might just give you some perspective on how you can truly optimise your time and expand your happiness.
✌🏽
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