My mentor once asked me - How much time does it really take to accomplish something ? Before I could answer that
question, he asked another (better) question - How much time do you
actually have ?
It took me some
time to answer that second question. I always thought that I have the rest of
the life to accomplish something.
As I was thinking
of the right answer to this question, I got this thought, more like a next
question - Where is the bulk of my time being spent ? Only
then can I determine how long something will really take to accomplish. You
need to ask yourself this question too.
How Much Time Do
You Have ?
The average month
has 720 hours (30 days X 24 hours). If you sleep for 8 hours a
day, you have 480 hours left. If you worked 40 hours per week,
4 weeks a month, then you have 320 hours left. Maybe, working 40
hours per week is optional, but certainly not optimal. And may be not
necessary. In the knowledge economy, our best work generally happens while we
are away from work. Research shows, that only 16% of creative ideas happen
while we are at work. Most happen while we are relaxing, commuting, traveling,
spending time with loved ones, etc. Take another 2 hours per day for eating (2
hours X 30 days = 60 hours), and you have 280 hours left.
So, the question
is, what are you doing with those 280 hours ? If you spend
those 280 hours listening to audiobooks or reading a book, you could listen to or
read about 45 books ! An average book being 6 hours.
280 hours X 12
months = 3,360 hours. What are you doing with those 3,360 hours ? If you spend
those 3,360 hours on books, you could go through about 560 books !
Of course, all 560
books would probably not be the best use of your time. Going through even a 100,
though, would probably be life–altering.
Reading books
should stimulate new ways of thinking and acting in the world. If we’re not
acting differently, we’re not actually learning and thus not changing. Our
behaviour is what shapes circumstance, confidence, personality, and
relationships.
For most people,
learning has become an escape from doing. Filling our head with useless
information is the opposite of hard–won wisdom and understanding, which can
only happen through the application of knowledge and re–application based on
experience in the real world.
What do we do with our 280 Hours ?
Until we can
manage time, we can manage nothing else.
If we don’t know we have a problem, it probably won’t change.
If we don’t
believe we have a problem, it probably won’t change.
If we can’t
admit we have a problem, we are living in denial.
We all have
problems. In today’s society, we’re all addicted to something (may be even many
things !). We can’t purposefully change what you’re unaware of. Hence, the pressing
need for accountability (to self and others). If we track and are required to
report something, we will become heavily conscious. If there are immediate
consequences to not performing, performance will rise even more.
The moment of
awakening happens when we
ü Acknowledge to yourself that we have a problem
ü Openly admit we have a problem
ü Begin seeking out information and help
ü Become Accountable
ü Create an environment that facilitates our desire
to change
ü Begin investing in more healthy alternatives & solutions
With that said,
let’s take a look at our current use of time. Where are we spending it ?
Be completely honest – we have no
idea where it’s being spent. That’s because unless we are conscious of where it’s being
spent, we can’t track the time spent. Which for most people isn’t fun. It’s
hard. It’s a chore. So, we give up after 1 – 3 days.
In the next part, we will examine what we need to do, if we want to start achieving our 10–year
plans in the next 6 months.
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