03. Three Myths to Avoid to Get the Most Out of Your Time- Part 1

Three Myths to Avoid to Get the Most Out of Your Time- Part 1

Considering this programme is intended to help you manage your time better and to help you be more effective in life, this lesson – along with the next one – will greatly help you do so.

In this lesson, we discuss three myths related to time management which can derail all your efforts to be effective in what you do.

Myth 1: The Work-Life Dichotomy
Perhaps the phrase ‘work-life balance’ was coined to help people for whom work dominated their life, and important non-work responsibilities like health or family were getting ignored.
However, thinking of work and life as dichotomous is one of the myths of time management that will erode your effectiveness, and how successful you can be.

Rather, you must think of the work you do to earn a living and the work you do outside of your workplace as being part of a continuum; as two among many multiple parts – which would include your health, relationships, hobbies, etc. – of an interconnected whole.

Why This Matters
If you think that life begins only after work ends, you will risk viewing work as being a necessary evil; something that must be carried out just to provide for your material needs. There is really no harm in thinking thus. Some people do not have big ambitions for their career, and work is simply a means of providing for their needs, and this mindset is then justified.

However, if you harbor any significant ambitions for your professional life, then viewing life – something that bring you joy – as something that begins only after work ends is unfavourable. If you cannot see work as being inherently rewarding, you will not go too far, professionally speaking. Work must ideally be seen as an integral part of ‘life’; that which bring one joy.

Conversely, giving work all your time and attention is also unproductive. You are not a machine designed to churn out revenue generating output. You are a person. Your emotional, social, psychological and spiritual needs matter, and cannot be ignored at any cost.

How then does one find a balance between the various needs that one has? The answer: look at the – greater – priority of the moment?

When faced with a choice between spending your time on two disparate activities, ask yourself: which of these two requires me more, at this moment? Choose that.

Also, train yourself to ask these two questions: five years from now, which of these decisions will have a greater impact on me and my family? Learn to choose that.

We will be exploring Myths 2 and 3 in the next lesson.

Happy learning!