Time Management (VSC)

Time is eternal. So when we say time management, we are concerned of self-management. "Work expands to fill the gap of time available", a westerner. By this he means that we have habit of extending the work for longer time if time is available. For example, if a letter has to be written and posted before 5 days, we do it in 5 days although it can be done within few hours.

Multitasking is a trend popular nowadays. Is that really productive? Its not. We are in illusion to think that we are doing many things at a time. It is switching the mind here and there. At a time mind can take only one task. Bringing back our attention from one task to another requires unnecessary effort and time and the performance is compromised.

Sometimes multitasking becomes essential. For example, when you are driving to hospital in emergency. You have to make calls and look for the patient, etc. while driving. You can not deny it.

We do lots of things which are urgent and non-urgent, important and unimportant.
We are much concerned of works which are important but non-urgent. These require initiative and planning. Fix of long term goals and achieve them by self-discipline. For example, prevention from many things like disease, wasting time, etc. Conscience (vivek) and vairagya is needed to perform this kind of work. When we do not care the important and non-urgent works, these become important and urgent and eat our head. We most often do it. For some people it is life. They say until you get squeezed under dead line, you would not get joy of freedom following. But it is not a healthy attitude.

When we say we don t have time for certain thing that mean we are not interested in that. If we are interested, we definitely find time for it. We set priority of works according to a order of works which we are more interested in.

Ques: I see my rival who has drinking and smoking habits nevertheless getting better grades in lesser efforts. Should I take inspiration from him?
Ans: He may be performing better but in long run he is going to suffer. There are people who have excellent IQ bad EQ(Emotional quotient). EQ determines ones stand in long run. You must have control over emotions. Be child-like not childish. Being child-like means being innocent, expressive, straight forward and being childish means not being able to control sudden release of emotions such as anger, sorrow, fear, extreme joy, etc. So make the character because that only pays in end.

(This post contains contents taken from the lecture by Swami Atmashraddhanand ji at IIT Madras, who is editor of Magazine Vedant Kesari, from Ramkrishna Math, Mailapur, Chennai)