Warning! Do not delay! : Lessons in Time Management for goal-driven fanatics

It’s past twelve noon. It’s almost time to go. I thought impatiently as I looked at the wall clock. Oh well, actually, it is time to go. We’re on our way to attend a burial and the funeral Mass will be starting at one o’clock. How long does it take to go to our destination? You have to consider the travel time which would take more than thirty minutes plus the time needed to pick up some relatives along the way. But why are we not going yet? I was already getting restless while waiting for the others. Finally, after keeping the house in order, securing the locks, and all that stuff we used to do before leaving, we’re set to go. While on our way, I was already complaining that we’re so delayed.

As we drove through the streets, I saw somebody familiar flagging our vehicle, waving at us to stop.

“It’s Auntie!” I told Dad who pulled over to the side of the road. She was with her daughter Bea. It turned out they were also on their way to the burial.

“We were riding in a jeepney from the city,” she told us, “and just as we passed by your subdivision’s gate, Bea saw your vehicle coming out, so we got down immediately.”

Now that made me think. What if we started out much earlier? Or what if we were delayed by a few more minutes? We wouldn’t have met my Auntie on our way. I know it would be very inconvenient for them to commute on their way to the place since it would take about two rides to arrive at the destination. Was it coincidence? I’d say it was God’s perfect time at work.

Time Management Lesson No. 1: A delay or inconvenience on your part, which you thought was your loss, could actually be a blessing or a gain for you or for another person.

And just recently, this realization again struck me.

Mom and I are currently working on a residential project and we already have somebody in mind for the electrical plans. We still haven’t met and discussed the details with this guy because we were also preoccupied with other matters. You could say we’re quite delayed in our schedule.

But just this week, Mom had a conversation with a fellow engineer. It turned out they have a common friend who could do the electrical plans, and who’s even more qualified.

Now isn’t that neat? And the best part was that he’s a close friend of my parents, and a classmate of my uncle. He even promptly came over that day, so we were able to discuss the plan, and I gave him the draft. I’d say I felt comfortable working with him, and I’m glad we were not able to commit with the first guy as scheduled.

Have you experienced a similar case wherein some delay on your work resulted to a better deal? It was definitely one of those times when I’m thankful for those dreaded delays. A better option was being prepared for us.

Time Management Lesson No. 2: What our human reasoning defines as the most imperfect and inadequate time, might actually be the best time for us.

I bet you have encountered situations wherein you feel you’re lagging behind or you feel everything just looks so sluggish. I guess this is the dilemma of most goal-oriented persons like me – being caught up in a whirlwind of efficiency, of wanting to do so much in such a short period of time. I have my own to-do lists, my short term and long term goals, my project plans, and I even used to have a food intake log and schedule of exercise activities. All these things I did to give me a sense of being in control of my time.

Don’t get me wrong. Having a goal is very important. They say that goals are dreams with a deadline, and I totally agree with this. Without the element of time, a dream would end up as just another daydream or simply just wishful thinking.

So, it’s absolutely fine to have a goal, BUT when things don’t go according to your timetable, and things are beyond what you can manage, don’t fuss. Stay pretty (or else you’ll age faster and those unwanted wrinkles would start appearing). Keep your cool. You might be in for a pleasant surprise.