Triveni Journal
1927 | 11,233,916 words
Triveni is a journal dedicated to ancient Indian culture, history, philosophy, art, spirituality, music and all sorts of literature. Triveni was founded at Madras in 1927 and since that time various authors have donated their creativity in the form of articles, covering many aspects of public life....
TRIPLE STREAM:
SANDS OF TIME/TIME MANAGEMENTtc "SANDS OF TIME/TIME MANAGEMENT"
Time and space are eternal and infinite. Einstein discovered the relationship between time and space when he was on the sick bed (perhaps meditating) in Peru. Eve n in our timeless scripture BHAGAVATAM there is a significant comment on Time: “The whole world will be joined and separated by the web of Time. None can forecast how time runs. Everything is caused by time. Therefore none can escape the changes wrought by Time”. Of course, we are not concerned with the high philosophy and metaphysics of time.
We are concerned with the modern view of time and its methodical utilisation, because one of the reasons for the wardness of our country is lack of time sense among our people. We seem to labour under the misguided notion: “Time is for dogs and apes. Man has for ever” (Browning).
Time management is a universal problem. One of the major leadership tasks is time management. Delays in the completion of work and execution of projects will cause loss of hundreds of millions of rupees. For example, the Public Estimates Committee has recently pointed out that such delays in executing only 58
projects in India have resulted in the loss of a colossal amount - 15,000 crore rupees. Such losses are frequent in our country justifying the privatisation of some of our public sector undertakings which are either sick or in the red.
Gandhiji, the Father of our Nation, was a model in time-management. He was a stickler to punctuality as well as discipline. He was always on the dot in keeping his engagements. He carried a time piece tied to a chain dangling from his waist. Once, before Independence, a leader who had to preside over a public meeting convened by Gandhiji was late by forty-five minutes. Gandhiji said in the meeting “Independence also would be delayed by forty-five minutes”. In his Ashram at Sevagram Rajkumari Amrit Kaur had to manage the numerous visitors who went to see him. According to Gandhiji’s instructions she put up a sign board which read ‘Be quick, Be brief, Be gone’! Time is precious. Time is money in business and industry. Loss of time affects efficiency.
It is necessary for persons in all walks of life to heed the following time-tested maxims:
‘Time and tide wait for no man’.
‘Procrastination is the thief of time’.
‘A stitch in time saves nine’.
‘Catch time by the fore lock’.
‘Don’t put off till tomorrow what you can do today’.
It is important for a business manager or the head of an organisation to study the way things are done and to note carefully whether the work was needlessly increased, or the time taken to do it was needlessly extended. The motions of each worker who is performing the task need not be examined each time, when once we have a standard of quantitative achievement and a criterion of quality for ready-made application. One should also carefully note unnecessary instructions and interruptions and the way the tools or the materials are laid out. Through out, the managerial staff should use the following scientific questions : ‘What is being done, why? Where? When? By whom? How?’ The findings should be discussed in a group meeting to facilitate the reaching of agreed decisions/conclusions/recommendations. The democratic method of discussion and participatory style of leadership are more likely to produce the desired results in time management. Studies in research show that self-managed work will be better and quicker than the inspector-supervised one.
The following are a few practical guide-lines scrupulously followed by successful men: Every one seems busier today than ever, and it is prevalent complaint that one is too busy to get through all one is supposed to do. Mechanical inventions like computers may have made work easier in some respects, but the increasing tempo of modern living and the mounting complexity of many human activities have produced multiplicity of detail with an accompanying sense of being unable to cope with it all. Therefore, work should be shared through decentralisation and delegation. Delegation is not abdication. Confidence in one’s colleagues has often made one express more order and composure.
Executives cut the paper work to the minimum and use direct communication to the extent possible. In his book ‘In-Laws and Out-laws’, Northcote Parkinson reserves a whole Chapter entitled ‘Paper Monstrosity’ to the needless accumulation of files and paper. A journalist of Egypt calls accumulation of paper “the Fourth Pyramid”. As a paper passes through the various ‘channels’ in the office, lots of time is willfully or inadvertently wasted. Cumbersome rules and time-consuming procedures are the worst culprits in time management. Whatever the reason, to-day there is lot of pendancy in courts. It takes several years for a judgement to be delivered. This confirms the old adage “Justice delayed is justice denied.”
Work should be classified under three categories a) Important/urgent b) Not so important but necessary c) Routine. Business of the first category should be attended to, when one has sufficient time and the right kind of mood when one’s mind is not a pressure cooker of feelings. Some people prefer mornings and some prefer evenings or night. The point is, the peak periods of mental alertness and efficiency differ from person to person.
As such, there are no hard and fast rules. Where time-bound work is concerned, one should not allow grass to grow under one’s feet. Split-second efficiency is the hall-mark of decision-making officers. Deferred decisions and delayed action generally produce adverse effects.
In affairs of the world although politeness and good manners are important, one should be able to say ‘No’ when the situation demands it. Otherwise valuable time will be whiled away. Of course, negative decisions and feelings should be expressed with utmost courtesy.
In home life or career we should cultivate the diary habit. The day’s programme of work/time table should be jotted down in a note book, leaving elbow room for contingencies and unforeseen circumstances. Marginal time must be productively utilised. Whenever one has to wait, waiting time should be utilised for mental planning and rehearsing. Meditation will produce clarity of thinking and mental alertness and agility which are necessary for sound judgement and right action.
Talk little, Listen more. Excessive communication is counter-productive. The more we talk, or write, the less we communicate. Resourcefulness helps us to make restricted use of the telephone, especially when we are in conference or talking to persons who come for serious discussion. The visitor in flesh and blood is more important than the casual caller on telephone. We may tell the intending caller “Can I ring you ? Some one is here talking to me”. Of course urgent calls are different.
An efficient officer never leaves the seat without telling his secretary or assistant. When he is going to be late, he tells his secretary, because his movements should be known to meet an unforeseen emergency.
As soon as he gets into his office he starts looking into ‘urgent’ files. This will be the quiet time before the telephone starts buzzing and visitors send their slips. It is not proper for employees to read a news paper in the office. If several people read a news paper or a book or a magazine for half an hour each morning, it is the work of one employee! The organisation can’t afford to lose so much time.
Personal example is the secret of maintaining punctuality and discipline. If the officer himself goes late or watches a cricket match on T.V in his chamber, he has no right to find fault with his staff. Similarly, parents should set an example to their children.
Why do meetings and seminars have thin attendance? The captive audience have to suffer long speeches when the dull scholars bore the audience, speaking interminably and everlastingly. The audience get terribly bored when seminarists read their prepared papers without presenting them. When a business meeting is convened, the detailed agenda must be circulated well in advance so that the members come prepared to save time and expedite decision-making. For want of the required data, consideration of certain items of the agenda will be deferred which results in avoidable delay and expense.
In his spare time an officer or employee should read and reread the goals of the organisation which requires only one minute and a minute spent every once in a while out of his day to look at his performance to see whether or not it matches the goals is rewarding. Every citizen should cultivate the habit of checking his personal goals in life so that the sands of time do not run out.
Wasted Time is the only thing that cannot be recycled.