I used to feel that I did not have time for anything.
Between high-school and business school, I think I was late for almost every appointment I ever had. I'm not the most punctual person on earth, but I think I can safely say that I got better.
I was delayed a bit today as I left my office, and therefore got slightly late at the presentation I went to attend.
5 years ago, or maybe just 3 years ago, I probably would have ran like a madman to catch up with time, and win a couple of minutes. What I have understood is that time does not control me. I am in control of my life, of my actions, of my priorities.
Reaching that comprehension has taken me a lot of time, and quite many years of running, getting shorter of breath, and yet another day closer to death. I see today that it's okay to be one day closer to death without running. Be it to gain a few seconds on a travel, or to fit more things in one day.
Even though I cannot do everything that there is to do on this earth, even though I cannot possibly go through the complete span of life experiences, I can take my time. In fact, I feel it's because I know that I cannot do everything, I can allow myself to take control of my time.
Currently, I am reading The 7 Habits of Highly effective people.
Random trivia: in French the title reads something like "The 7 habits of people who successfully realize everything that they set themselves to endeavour" (don't worry, it's actually shorter when you write it in French. otherwise it simply would not even fit in the front cover :p ).
It is a highly useful book, as it provides guidance in leading a life more centered around principles and values, rather than appearance and personality, as is often the case in our current times.
After setting out to explain that:
- if you want to change, you need to want to change: the "what if", "I wish" won't ever do you no good
habit 1, "be proactive"
- all things are created twice: before you act, you must first produce an image of the expected result in your mind
habit 2: "begin with the end in mind",
so after those two habits he gives an opinion on the difference between leadership and management. If leadership is about going in the right direction (habit 2), habit 3 is about management: "Put first things first".
By consistently prioritizing on what is important for us, and not only on what is urgent, we can get more results on those important things.
And what is important? well, there can be quite a few things. I had some trouble understanding the whole point of this habit until I found out about the "roles" perspective. In our lives, we all hold several roles: child (of our parents), sibling (of our siblings), friend, colleague, student, etc.
And the first thing to do is, regularly, to assess which of our roles are most important to us. Then we can start prioritizing on the things we have to do. Well that is how I do it, in fact, and it is doing it that way that has helped me significantly in better managing myself (rather than better managing my time).
I undertook a"paradigm change", as Aiesecers would have it: I changed my perspective and understanding on a topic, on a given part of the world, therefore allowing myself to interact differently with that part of the world that I now see differently.
So that was it! First post since the last one, where I stated my new ambition: more personal, shorter and more to the point, and hopefully more practical, less philosophical than usual.
Cheerioos,
Jonhjonh soon at large in Cyproos
Between high-school and business school, I think I was late for almost every appointment I ever had. I'm not the most punctual person on earth, but I think I can safely say that I got better.
I was delayed a bit today as I left my office, and therefore got slightly late at the presentation I went to attend.
5 years ago, or maybe just 3 years ago, I probably would have ran like a madman to catch up with time, and win a couple of minutes. What I have understood is that time does not control me. I am in control of my life, of my actions, of my priorities.
Reaching that comprehension has taken me a lot of time, and quite many years of running, getting shorter of breath, and yet another day closer to death. I see today that it's okay to be one day closer to death without running. Be it to gain a few seconds on a travel, or to fit more things in one day.
Even though I cannot do everything that there is to do on this earth, even though I cannot possibly go through the complete span of life experiences, I can take my time. In fact, I feel it's because I know that I cannot do everything, I can allow myself to take control of my time.
Currently, I am reading The 7 Habits of Highly effective people.
Random trivia: in French the title reads something like "The 7 habits of people who successfully realize everything that they set themselves to endeavour" (don't worry, it's actually shorter when you write it in French. otherwise it simply would not even fit in the front cover :p ).
It is a highly useful book, as it provides guidance in leading a life more centered around principles and values, rather than appearance and personality, as is often the case in our current times.
After setting out to explain that:
- if you want to change, you need to want to change: the "what if", "I wish" won't ever do you no good
habit 1, "be proactive"
- all things are created twice: before you act, you must first produce an image of the expected result in your mind
habit 2: "begin with the end in mind",
so after those two habits he gives an opinion on the difference between leadership and management. If leadership is about going in the right direction (habit 2), habit 3 is about management: "Put first things first".
By consistently prioritizing on what is important for us, and not only on what is urgent, we can get more results on those important things.
And what is important? well, there can be quite a few things. I had some trouble understanding the whole point of this habit until I found out about the "roles" perspective. In our lives, we all hold several roles: child (of our parents), sibling (of our siblings), friend, colleague, student, etc.
And the first thing to do is, regularly, to assess which of our roles are most important to us. Then we can start prioritizing on the things we have to do. Well that is how I do it, in fact, and it is doing it that way that has helped me significantly in better managing myself (rather than better managing my time).
I undertook a"paradigm change", as Aiesecers would have it: I changed my perspective and understanding on a topic, on a given part of the world, therefore allowing myself to interact differently with that part of the world that I now see differently.
So that was it! First post since the last one, where I stated my new ambition: more personal, shorter and more to the point, and hopefully more practical, less philosophical than usual.
Cheerioos,
Jonhjonh soon at large in Cyproos
