Time Management Information

Emergency Living


There are times, when I am driving in my car being passed by so many other cars speeding along, that I could swear there is an emergency somewhere and I wasn't invited. It seems everyone is in a hurry to get somewhere. The other day I was sitting at a red light, the light turned green and the car in front of me sped away. At the next traffic light the same car was sitting in front of me and, when the light turned green, off the car sped. This went on for three lights. I must say that I was rather amused that this speed demon only seemed to be speeding to a red light, and wasn't getting any further along than I was. In life, this same phenomenon can happen. Going faster doesn't mean we will get where we are going any sooner. We just burn more energy, or gas if we are in the car, than we would if we went at a much safer speed.

I am reminded of Stephen Covey's quadrants. Tasks are classified as important, but not urgent or important and urgent. Most things don't fall into the important and urgent quadrant. In fact, few things do, but many of us operate out of that quadrant. We treat everything like it is an emergency, and we rush around putting out fires that don't exist. The problem with treating everything like an emergency is, when we really have one, we might not recognize it or we will be so burned out that we won't be able to deal with it properly.

If you are not sure whether you are emergency living here is a list of signs:

- You are consistently five to ten minutes late

- Clutter has become a way of life

- You are either in "hurry up" or "catch up" mode

- You consistently forget things and misplace things

- You ran out of patience a long time ago

- You take pride in how much you can do

- You consider multi-tasking an art form

- You promise yourself that, when life slows down, you will take time to do the things you always wanted to do

- You make promises you don't keep

There is a great line from a song, "I'm in a hurry to get things done. I rush and rush until life's no fun." Emergency living causes us to rush right through life. We don't notice what is happening around us and, when we get to where we are rushing to, we simply hurry through so we can get to the next emergency. Slow down! You will get to where you are going soon enough. Like the person in the car rushing to each red light, they got nowhere fast.

If you speed through life treating it as an emergency, stop. Let's face it. The end will get here soon enough. Do you really want to get there any sooner than you have to? Slow down and smell the coffee, smell the roses; just smell. Rushing is no guarantee that you will get to your destination any sooner, but it is a guarantee that you will miss the most important part, the journey.

Coach Rachelle Disbennett-Lee, PhD, is a Certified Master Coach specializing in working with business owners and professionals in being more profitable and productive while staying sane and balanced. Coach Lee is the publisher of the award winning e-zine, 365 Days of Coaching. Her first book, 365 Days of Coaching - Because Life Happens Every Day (Universal Publisher, 2004) was named a finalist for Best Book 2004 by Publish.com and has a five star rating on Amazon.com. Visit Coach Lee at her websites http://www.coachlee.com and http://www.365daysofcoaching.com. True Direction, Inc. Copyright > > > This article along with byline attached may be freely republished < <


MORE RESOURCES:

Time management critical to excel
Economic Times, India - 17 hours ago
If you examine the matter closely, time and timing is everything. If you want tell somebody something that in your opinion is critical, it is better to say ...


Bible Wesleyan Church hosts time management seminar
Tri County Leader, TX - Sep 4, 2008
The Bible Wesleyan Church at 104 Hagan Rd. in Whitehouse will be the location for a time management seminar by Rick Grubbs. Since 1984 Rick Grubbs has been ...


Part-Time Management Accountant
Third Sector (registration), UK - Sep 4, 2008
As our name suggests, the Leadership Centre for Local Government has the mission of creating thriving and prosperous communities – and you’ll play a very ...


FriendFeed is not killing blogging [Time Management 101]
The Inquisitr, Australia - Sep 3, 2008
The real issue identified here is one of time management. How do you best divide your time across various platforms in an age where there is so much going ...


Termi8r's Week and Thoughts About Time Management
PokerStrategy.com, UK - Sep 3, 2008
Nevertheless, he made some important steps, such as having a time management, to become a better poker player. by Termi8r This week has been a rather quiet ...


Time-Management Tips for Mobile Professionals
PC World - Aug 27, 2008
As a topic, time management is about as exciting as watching flies buzz around a no-pest strip. But would you be interested in learning about time ...


Team well-versed in time management
Boston Globe, United States - Aug 24, 2008
By Christopher L. Gasper FOXBOROUGH - The schedule makers did the Patriots no favors this preseason, giving them three games in an 11-day span. ...


No clowning around with time management
Calgary Herald,  Canada - Aug 25, 2008
Many students resist when they first hear their parents tell them to "get a job." But it doesn't take long for them to value working as a way to gain ...


Time Management Tips: 5 Tips For Making Time Work Better For You
3x24 - Your Newspaper and News Magazine, Germany - Aug 26, 2008
by Wendy Hearn In today’s hectic world it is easy to lose track of things if you do not have some kind of time management strategy in place. ...


Learning time management a must for Hawks
Gazette Online, IA - Aug 27, 2008
Time management is the key for these student-athletes. Between the books and football, there's little time for anything else. It's easy to slip up, ...

Time-Management - Google News

home | site map
© 2006