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Time Management - MYTHS OF TIME MANAGEMENT
MYTHS OF TIME MANAGEMENT
The Common Fallacies
“Ah, the clock is always slow;
It is later than you think.” –Robert William Service
“So much to do, so little time” – Last words of Cecil
Rhodes
Time, being an abstract concept, has several myths
associated with it. Eight such myths are enumerated below, for you to ponder:
MYTH NO. 1 – TIME IS ALWAYS SHORT
We can run short of time if we did not plan well in
advance, started late or used our time ineffectively. Falling short of achieving
unrealistic goals (biting off more than we can chew) can also produce this
feeling --- as in the case of Cecil Rhodes (after whom Rhodesia was named).
MYTH NO. 2 – WE CAN ‘SAVE' TIME
No one can condense time: if a particular job needs 24
hours to accomplish (e.g. setting of cement), nothing can reduce it.
MYTH NO. 3 – TIME FLIES
Perceptions about the passage of time can vary from one
person/situation to another person/situation. It can appear to fly for a
well-organized, busy accomplisher, and it can appear to drag for a
procrastinating, disorganized ‘time-passer'. “A watched kettle never boils” is
an earthy truism.
MYTH NO. 4 – TIME IS AGAINST US
There are no friends or enemies for Time – it is neutral.
Those who harness it properly know it is a good servant; those who do not,
realize it is a bad master.
MYTH NO. 5 – ALL SUBORDINATES ARE INEFFICIENT
The real-fault lies in poor selection, placement, training
and man-management, inability to delegate. All these factors are responsible for
this illusion.
MYTH NO. 6– OPEN-DOOR POLICY SAVES TIME
The much-touted open-door policy, result of an
over-reaction to the criticism of a closed-door, bureaucratic policy, can be a
vicious time waster if over-done. Be open to subordinates, but curb
approachability by setting clean boundaries of specific time/place. Beware of
the corridor button-hollers who expect snap decisions at the water cooler.
Exceptions can be emergencies, war-like situations etc.
MYTH NO. 7 – PLANNING WASTES TIME
Nothing could be further from the truth. This myth is
propagated by the cowboys on the staff who have little respect for the bowfins
and advocate that “we just go in there, guns blazing, and wipe them out.”
Suicidal.
MYTH NO. 8 – OTHER HUSBANDS RETURN EARLY
Propagated by bored housewives who themselves are poor time
managers, who can't have enough time to spend, so want to spend their husbands'
time as well! In any case ‘early' or ‘late' are subjective opinions. But even if
a husband spends a little more time at the office than his peers, it can show
his commitment to both family and employer. It is the quality of time spent with
family that really matters.
