Time Management, Event Control and Life Management

In most of my Time Management Seminars, I open with the question, "What is TIME?' Most people respond with irrelevant explanations about the fourth dimension - irrelevant because time management is not about the fourth dimension and quantum physics. Many people tell me things like, "time is difficult to control," or "time is a very valuable resource." Some people talk of the value of time in terms of wages earned or interest accrued. Almost all agree that time is something everyone needs more of. That still does not explain what time is!

Here is my definition: Time is the medium within which events can occur and which separates events. Think about it. If it weren't for time, all events would be squeezed into a single moment, from the Big Bang through the present second and beyond. If it weren't for time, there would be no events. Time is what transforms the static world into a vibrant, lively, dynamic world.

By the definition above, I can measure time:

• From an event, e.g. 13.6 billion years since the Big Bang, 2 millennia since the birth of Christ, about 13 centuries since Mohamed retreated to Medina, about 6 decades since the last global war ended, or my age given as the time since my birth, etc.


• To an event, e.g. number of days until Tax Day, Election Day, or Christmas, or the launch of a new product, etc.


• Between occurrences of similar events, e.g. Halley's Comet visits us every 76 years, or the US President is elected every 4 years, etc.


• During an event (the duration of an event), e.g. human gestation is 9 months, the moon wanes and waxes in 29 days, etc.


• I can also measure an event in time or measure the frequency of an event within a fixed amount of time, e.g. the normal heart beats 72 times per minute at rest.

The definition allows to address the issue of time management in an objective light. We really do not have any control over time. Time is handed to us by the movement of the heavens. We cannot create or destroy time, nor can we control the flow of time unless we created a time machine. Time is the great equalizer since Prince and pauper alike only get 24 hours or 1440 minutes or 86400 seconds in every day. The only control over time that man can exercise is when a new calendar gets adopted. For example, the Julian calendar was adopted by a decree from Julius Caesar, and the Gregorian Reform was adopted by a Papal Bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII. The first decree added 35 days to the year 46 B.C., and the second took away 10 days from 1582 A.D.

I can manage my life better if I control the events in my life. I can control the events in my life in two ways - controlling which events occur in my life and deciding how long each one of them is going to take. In my opinion, time management should address both of these aspects, and more! The first part, controlling event mix, is the traditional view of time management. It consists of making lists of things to do, pruning and prioritizing the list, and successively tackling the item of highest priority. The second part, controlling event duration, is little known but of equal or greater importance. It addresses efficiency and expediency. Peter Drucker had said that effectiveness is doing the right thing and efficiency is doing things right. True time management controls event mix and event duration so that you can do the right things in the right manner.