Do you manage time or does time manage you?

I read a beautiful quote recently – “If you don’t take control of time, time will start taking control of you”.

The importance of this quote can not be elaborated in words, but it’s something that can be experienced by everyone.

For a long time, I was trying to manage my time well. It’s something I had been wanting to do.
I wanted to have time for my family, my work, my hobbies, my goals and my learning. I used many apps available on the latest gadgets (phone, laptop etc etc) but nothing was working too well.

I then googled an article one day, “how do CEOs manage their time!?” . Ofcourse, the main answer that popped up was, ‘They all have PAs (Personal Assistants)’ but I also learned about this new Android app – Wunderlist in one of the articles. I must tell you it’s a pretty cool app.

It lets you create to do lists, set reminders, due dates, sort the tasks and a lot more. 

As we grow, our to do lists also start growing and getting bigger. However, our minds process information in the same way – logically. Our brains were not created to store vast amounts of information, but to process information in real time.

Hence, the fact that we have 100 tasks on our list should not intimidate us. We have to do just one task at a time and be done with it. The important question is : “Which task should be done when?”

A lot of people do not like deadlines. They prefer working as per their own schedules. I am also not a big fan of strict deadlines, but I do like to set personal deadlines by giving me enough time to analyze and learn. And recently, with my time management app, I think I’ve gotten better at it.

I now like the feeling of checking off tasks from my to do list and what encouraged me to do so, was the reminders feature on my phone app. We tend to ignore or forget some minor tasks in life, but they keep popping every few weeks or in a few months. Setting reminders helped me not ignore those tasks and check them off sooner.

Life is beautiful and offers so much to learn. We can miss out on a lot of things, if we don’t manage our time well.

Analyze what works best for you – what makes you check off tasks from your To do list. These are personal preferences and choices. The main learning here is that we manage time and do not let time manage us.

And in between all this, don’t forget to enjoy!

Silent moments with myself…

Since childhood, I never used to take afternoon naps. I know a lot of people, who prefer taking rest in the afternoon, especially on weekends. All my family members did too and I would just sit near a window, with a book in my hand.

Silent afternoons are time for me to think and spend quality time with myself.

In today’s world, everything is fast – fast foods, fast trains, fast internet, faster technology! We are all running behind something through out the day. Sometimes it’s even difficult to realize how weeks come and go. People now spend less quality time with their families and more with their chores or electronic gadgets.

I was reading an article that said: “Spend your weekends the way people used to spend their time in 1920’s ——– Stay away from technology, read a book, go for a walk, pamper yourself, listen to music, go to the library etc. However, today, it’s unimaginable for people to stay away from the internet for too long.

When I spend silent moments with myself, I think of what has happened, what is happening and what I plan to do. I revisit my plans, big and small, and try to see where I stand. (Small plans like buying nick nacks for the house, organizing the house, watering the plants and so on…. big plans like achieving a career goal, following my dreams, helping my family with their goals….

Silent moments make you realize that you are alive. They make you feel present in the moment.

Silent moments can sometimes make you feel lonely, but they also provide an opportunity to be your own companion.

These moments are precious since they may not last long, considering the fact that life will drag you again — into its unending idiosyncrasies, and you won’t have an option but to surrender.

Once you get comfortable with silence, you build a very good relationship with yourself. You become aware of your self conscience. You learn to accept yourself. Your goals become more clear and you are more aligned with your own self.

You believe in yourself. You analyze and comprehend things better.

I read that, listening to the same songs over and over again and memorizing them channelizes your mind. In the same way, silent moments channelize our energies — they help us deal with stress and noise in life.

When did you last spend silent moments with yourself and enjoyed them? What did you achieve from those moments?

Find a balance among the noise and the silence that life offers…. It’s crucial for the well being of our mind and our spirit….! and ….Then you will feel, that silent moments with yourself …are not as silent as you thought!