The maxim "Time is money" is attributed to Benjamin Franklin, but the great thinkers of antiquity already formulated ideas in this sense.
If the lack of money is frustrating to say the least, it seems that the lack of time is also a cause of frustration for a good number of people; Curiously, these latter people usually lack time, but money is left over. As we cannot have longer and calmer days, we have to make a more intelligent management of this precious limited resource (we refer to time); not only in search of greater effectiveness in daily performance and moments for continuous personal and professional development, but also in order to get home with time and with mental space to share family concerns, and even to give us a dose of social life. Actually, it would not seem very smart to sacrifice personal happiness for professional success, but each one is very in control of their time and money.If the reader is still with us, know that we are going to talk here about the use of time; we will talk about the use of money when we have more.
In companies, especially large ones, and without being aware of it, time is often wasted to a not inconsiderable extent: this is what many studies and many scholars on the subject say. At first glance, one does not have that feeling when looking around, but a closer analysis confirms it. Surely there are tasks, decisions or activities to which we should devote more time - for example, it is said that in general we spend little time thinking-; but it seems equally true that many other tasks, for very different reasons, consume a significant extra dedication without implying more added value. It seems that the law that Parkinson formulated 40 years ago is still fully in force: each task consumes all the time available for its completion.
The fact is that many of us tend to misallocate time between tasks to be performed, and it seems that we also neglect priorities. It goes without saying: if among the various pending tasks at our table we always chose the one we most want to do, and even extended in its development, then there would be the risk that the most important thing would be delayed significantly, or even indefinitely. Among other surely worse consequences, this would incubate a certain compunction; It is therefore necessary to nurture a good conscience by doing what must be done at each moment: we will be in luck when that is precisely what we most want. In a way, it is about adopting the proactive versus reactive model: this helps the fact that each person is in their place,that is to say, that he occupies the position in the organization in which he best fits, and therefore must do what he is best equipped for. This is not always possible, but human resource managers move with this trend.
The urgent, the important and the rest
But, what is the most urgent? What is the most important? How can we and should we add more value? What is going to produce the greatest personal benefit?…; We often ask ourselves these and other questions, and we even answer them automatically without actually asking ourselves. In the past, the boss clarified all this to us almost every day and no one questioned it, but today, with work by objectives and the so-called empowerment, each of us would have to have our answers. In theory, and in search of the best performance, our daily action would have to respond to our formulated commitments, and should be aligned with the common references of the organization -values, strategy, general objectives, internal policies and procedures, etc.-, of so that they guide us;But many workers think that if they faithfully heeded these references, they could be considered conflicting or malicious.
In practice there are almost always, on the one hand, more or less frequent requirements from the bosses, and on the other hand, commitments formally formulated as objectives or tasks, both individually and as a team; In any case, and even if we don't feel like doing it, it is usually easy to know what to do. (To tell the truth, there are cases in which it is not so easy: when someone has several bosses and they all come at the same time in a hurry. It is the terrible case of shared resources, in which, in addition, the better you do it, the more work they bring you.)
Well trained and informed
Of course, if we want to have time, we must be well prepared -trained- to carry out the tasks with the expected standards of efficiency: the lack of training -or information- affects very significantly the quality and the time spent on the job. development of our functions. Also, as Peter Drucker says, poor communication between people creates great difficulties. We must be aware of this serious obstacle -problems of training, information and communication- because too often tasks are repeated because they are poorly performed or, what is worse, they are taken for granted without questioning the quality (it is papillism).
Companies must make adequate use of individual intelligences for the benefit of collective intelligence, so that it, in turn, nourishes the former in their daily operations. In other words: let no one reinvent what was invented before. This is basically the idea of what we call knowledge management. In short, a good knowledge management in the company would make available to the workers a good dose of formal and informal wisdom -that is: the data that we usually need in daily practice- with interesting effects: we would save time and effort, and we would generate better results. On the other hand, it is known that a few minutes dedicated to preventing problems can save many hours trying to solve them. We already noted that apparently we think little and badly: that is what is said.(Perhaps it is because if you are caught thinking, it seems that you are not doing anything.) Let's not forget that among the professional skills that are being missed the most today
They include, for example, systems thinking, analytical thinking, creative thinking, strategic thinking, and conceptual thinking. We definitely have to learn to think, and then apply what we have learned.
The meetings
But we cannot talk about the use of time without referring to meetings. Controversial meetings - the cause of considerable loss of time - are often a clear interference in our purpose of taking advantage of it. Some meetings are of unquestionable importance, are developed properly and are fruitful, but it is accepted as true that others are not. Someone said that the abuse of meetings goes to show that companies could function with fewer people, and in fact, Peter Drucker supports the idea that one can work or meet, but cannot do both; He is probably not advocating the abolition of meetings, but almost all of us think that some can be avoided, or that their fruits can be improved, or that too many people are called.
No one seems to pretend that the best use of time involves going mad through the corridors, losing the ability to listen, prohibiting interruptions, engaging in meditation, and rejecting all meetings. We must be able to take a coffee calmly, letting the mind rest; we must use the necessary time to think things over before making an opinion; and we must also contrast our points of view with other people, in favor of success, consensus, alignment of efforts, continuous improvement and innovation.
Work longer hours
There are people who dedicate more than 50 and 60 hours to their professional performance throughout the week, and want to continue doing so. Some managers actually extend the working day in their offices: there are, as we said, very different reasons for doing so. Curiously, a minority admit that home is more stressful for them than work; but it must indeed be a minority. In any case, if this excess of dedication did not lead to a rewarding high return, it would be, in principle, regrettable; it could be an indication of a problem to be solved. Consider on the other hand that, despite our shortcomings, there are probably people who wait for us at home every day.
But it is not always the pursuit of success that is behind overwork; sometimes we work longer out of pure intrinsic motivation, perhaps addicted to the high performance euphoria. This has been well studied by Professor Csikszentmihalyi of the University of Chicago; he reminds us that when we enjoy doing what we do, we do it especially well and even lose track of time. Here, of course, it should be said that there are different types of work, and that we are thinking especially of the workers of knowledge or thought. However, the enjoyment of work - strange as it may seem - is possible in almost all of them.
conclusion
It is very likely that each of us can better manage our time in the company for our own benefit and that of it, and if we ever waste the time of others, that is also undoubtedly avoidable. We can be more effective - it is recommended to read Stephen Covey or Hyrum Smith, for example - both in our individual work, and in relationships with clients, bosses, collaborators, colleagues and suppliers. But that does not mean always giving up healthy moments of relaxation that revitalize us.
In daily action, and to the extent that everyone can manage their time, the usual advice would be applicable: know and respect priorities, dedicate the right and necessary time to each issue, and avoid indefinite parking of pending tasks. Properly managing time - without giving up a few minutes of rest several times a day, seasoned if possible with a good mood - translates into a better contribution to results, greater professional satisfaction, and surely in the opening of gaps to acquire new ones knowledge always necessary. (Attention: managing the time well does not mean managing the clock well, or using the calendar well.)
But let's not stop at professional satisfaction because, being necessary, it is not enough for our well-being. Or put another way: our greatest personal commitment is to our children and our spouse. To the extent that it is a compromise of feelings, it must be remembered that feelings are like theory: they have to be put into practice.
