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!

Ego stops you from…. “Growing”….

Think about a kid who is adamant and does not listen to his parents at all.

Think about a husband who doesn’t respect or care enough for his wife or family.

Think about two co workers having a conflict about who is right.

Think about a person who is not willing to receive new ideas or suggestions.

We all can run into difficult situations with other people. We may say…some people have a huge ego. We may even say…we don’t get along with those people, because of their ego.

We ourselves sometimes carry a huge ego over little things.

Now think of it this way…

Name a person who has traveled to all countries of the world, knows all languages, all cultures, all scientific, geographic and theoretical facts that exist for every entity in the world. Name a person who is “liked by everyone” in the entire world.

“Such a person does not exist and can probably never exist.”

Nobody knows “everything”. We all have scope for learning and growing. We all CAN learn a little more than what we know today. We have limited time (life) to get unlimited knowledge.

Then, What’s the point of having any ego? What can we possibly be proud of or egoistic about?

Are we proud of the incomplete knowledge that we have? Are we proud of being liked by a few people in the world? Are we egoistic about knowing more than others? ….knowing more than everyone on the planet?

Think….. what kind of thoughts “ego” feeds in your mind. Think if ego “helps” in any way. Think if being “humble” is all that matters.

Ego stops you from learning, growing, achieving because it gives you the misconception that you are right, “always” and that “you” know more than others.

Don’t let ego stop you from growing. It’s not worth it!
LET GO of EGO….