TIME IS IRREPLACEABLE. ONCE WE WASTE TIME, THERE IS NO WAY WE CAN REGAIN IT. IT IS SOMETHING WHICH CANNOT BE PUT IN A LOCKER, BUT MUST BE MADE THE BEST USE OF, WHEN IT IS STILL WITH US.

Truly, time once gone, is gone forever. A number of people have different answers when asked about the availability and utility of time. Some say there is not enough time to do everything they want to do. Others say that time hangs heavily on their heads and still others say they cannot keep track of time. There are those who say that they have plenty of time but little to do. Such people have lost their moorings. Such people are not equipped or have not been taught the blessings of gainful employment. You can see plenty of such people who sit outside their offices in the sun, and play cards.A majority of the people says they don’t have plenty of time or that they have too much time and do not know what to do with it. While there is no way to turn 24 hours into 48 hours, we can always plan to use our time more productively. The solution lies in learning and practicing the time given to us, more resourcefully and efficiently.You must be aware and conscious of the key objectives for which you want to use your time and how you are using it at present. This is the most important step in time management. Once you know your key objectives, the next step is to prioritize your activities and the time available for them. In this way, you can rank as to what is most important for you. You can classify your objectives into three or more heads, like Personal Life, Community and Social Service and your Professional Life or work.

YOU MUST BE AWARE AND CONSCIOUS OF THE KEY OBJECTIVES FOR WHICH YOU WANT TO USE YOUR TIME AND HOW YOU ARE USING IT AT PRESENT. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP IN TIME MANAGEMENT.

By having a look at your objectives in different areas of your life, you can identify whether any area of your life is getting neglected, and whether your time is being proportionately spent.
What your goals should be, in the different segments of your life, only you can decide it. Writing down your objectives, and reviewing them, is the best way of utilizing your time. Life is in a flux and what is relevant today may not be tomorrow.

Organize and set up an activity record or register, to discover as to how you are actually spending your time. You can choose a week or ten days in a month and make a detailed record of how you have spent your time and what portion of the time has gone for the most important and least important aspect of your life and work.

Activity Record should be critically examined against your set objectives which could be a regular task. You can use any accessories which are available like a digital diary or spiral bound diaries or Microsoft outlook. A handy list serves as a great reminder. In this way, we don’t forget what we have to do. Summarise the results of your Activity Record with reference to the results achieved. A best technique is to identify where you are spending big chunks of time on low and inconsequential activities. Either you can cut them out or consolidate them, if they still must be done.

Another problem of time management is that we do not have a list of people to be contacted or things to be done. In life, there are not more than 50 to 60 frequently used telephones. This list can include your friends, gas suppliers, grocers, newspaper men, doctors, banks, business contacts and so on.

Though, I have been holding my driving license, since 1963, that is for over 44 years, I always use the services of a driver. The time thus saved from driving is spent by me either in reading, or working on my laptop or in returning the calls received earlier.

Similarly for writing, I use the services of my Private Secretary, who does all the routine work like emailing, faxing or posting letters or taking print out or answering phone calls.

The trick lies in examining your activity-list and deciding what you should do yourself, what you should discard, what you should combine, and what you should delegate.

The writer is IPS (Retd.). Former Director, CBI

Joginder Singh