Time management skills aren’t always within our grasp and often they need to be absorbed through the intuitive process rather than rote learning. With Albert Einstein’s help, let’s step back and take a broader look at the meaning of time management.
The phrase “time management” is a bit of a conundrum. For us to assume that we can somehow manipulate time is a bit fanciful (perhaps that should be something left for the gods). What we really mean is “self management.” Ideally, we manage what we do and how it affects other people and processes for a common goal.
Let’s try to broaden our existential horizons in a similar way that a football player learns yoga to improve balance. Imagine that you are given “free reign” with the Hubble space telescope and are viewing the heavens with one goal in mind-to measure the effects of time. Through the eye of the Hubble telescope you might find that time (as we know it) is irrelevant (Einstein had a lot to say about time but let’s save his wisdom for later). The galaxies you glimpse upon have taken millions of light years to arrive in the telescope lens. The actions of the universe (birth, growth, decay) are more important than time. It is only when you zoom in on the close planets and our moon do you see the end product and the details that makes time more relevant.
Now program the Hubble telescope to do a one hundred and eighty degree turn. We’ll point it directly at a typical engineering workplace on earth (the telescope has been fitted with a special x-ray lens to see through the building). We focus on a small plaque on an employee’s work desk: “Perfections of means and confusion of goals seem-in my opinion-to characterize our age.”
– Albert Einstein
The silicon valley building has been perfectly constructed. We see cutting edge computerized equipment, a library packed with books, manuals, and the like; rooftop antennas that allow employees to communicate worldwide. Each floor is lined with neat empty cubicles that would normally house skilled employees intent on contributing to the goals of the company (let’s call it Phokus Engineering, Inc.). We scan our Hubble telescope throughout the building but can’t find a similar plaque stating the goals of the company.
Unbeknownst to our Hubble telescope, Phokus Engineering has been in a financial crisis and is going out of business because the company has lost its focus on the business.
Could there be a correlation between poor time management and Phokus Engineering’s demise?
If we listen to Einstein, it may not be lack of time that affects time management; it may be the lack of clear goals. So when we say we need to “improve time management,” what we should be saying is that we need to clarify what our goals are (Phocus Engineering should have clarified their goals, too).
Let’s take an example. Suppose you are an ant and you need to move a crumb of bread two feet away into your ant hill before the patrolling anteater returns to eat you up. The issue here is not time, it’s whether or not the ant can have its meal tonight without getting eaten by the anteater. The goal is survival.
To put it in terms for engineers: Suppose you have a project where your responsibility is to provide a critical part for an electro-mechanical gadget and the deadline is two weeks. The first thing you might think is, OMG I only have two weeks! Then you will get out your planner and begin filling in the hours (which is fine).
“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex… It takes a touch of genius- and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.”
-Albert Einstein
Think about Einstein’s quote and observe your project from a different perspective. Write down your goals. For example:
- First, think about how to simplify the project (Streamline it? Enlist help? Think outside the box?)
- Commit to the feasibility of your responsibility of this project (if it doesn’t make sense or is not possible to do within the time frame given you need to voice your opinion).
- Talk to the vendor who is supplying your part for the gadget. Can they meet the commitment? Do they have any problems you should know about?
- Identifying goals may involve small steps like communicating you progress with fellow engineers; ensuring that the whole (the gadget) is the sum of the parts; is someone in control of all aspects of the project (project manager)?
Although Einstein said it (“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex… It takes a touch of genius- and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction,”) nearly a century ago his words are relevant today. Confusion of goals exist in the Middle East peace talks; dieting; political agendas; health care; NASA’s space program; the list goes on.
Regarding time management skills, it’s safe to say that if goals are realized then time becomes, well; maybe not irrelevant but more a friend than an enemy.