Using time more effectively
February 28th, 2006Here’s two interesting perspectives on the use of time:
- Peter Drucker suggested measuring what you spend your time doing. Most people will discover that they spend alot of their day on activities that they really don’t care about. Drucker teaches that by merely eliminating such activities, it frees up time for the activities you do care about, and leads to more personal satisfaction. But the key is to keep measuring one’s use of time occasionally, and see how it matches up to one’s goals.
- Benjamin Franklin also had a habit of measuring his use of time. He carried around a list of virtues, and if he felt he had failed on one of them, he checked the list for that day. For more on the wise Mr. Franklin’s practice, see http://www.flamebright.com/PTPages/Benjamin.asp
What’s interesting about both of these techniques is that they are both about making yourself accountable to yourself and reality. They create a feedback loop, at the end of which is hopefully a more self satisfied you.
March 1st, 2006 at 2:26 am
I remember my high school English teacher requiring us to keep a “Ben Franklin Journal” for two months as an exercise in self-improvement and reflection. Thanks for the reminder!