[Time-Management] Arise, awake and take charge!

 

1st April 2011

To see things in the seed, that is genius.

Chinese proverb

We come across various opportunities in life. We go through experiences. We meet people. We also meet with opportunities as well as threats. These are perceived through our five senses of the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and the skin. This is a mere mechanical perception. Anyone can do this. In fact, even a mechanical devise can notice things. A camera can notice an object. It can have a sophisticated computer and may be programmed to accurately focus on the same. But a camera cannot look beyond the physical object. It cannot evaluate, judge, analyse and do what an intelligent mind can do.

I am using two words here – intelligent and mind.

We should be intelligent enough to look beyond a thing and see a world of opportunities in the various things we come across in our life. An apple falling from a tree is an event. Anyone can see this. But only Newton noticed something beyond an incident. That's why he is a genius. A bird flying is an incident. But the Wright brothers saw beyond the bird and the flying. That's why they are genius.

The difference between a genius and an ordinary person depends on how the mind is used. Our mind is an amazing thing. We can create wonders if we know how to use the same. Our mind is just another resource. A resource is as useful as it is used.

When his restaurant was closed down Colonel Sanders noticed and opportunity and found a large market beyond his small restaurant to market his chicken recipe and that's how he founded a large organization. This is also the story of Akio Morita, Matsushita and Honda. Getting thrown out of a railway compartment was not merely a humiliating experience for Mahatma Gandhi. If he were not a genius, he would have ignored the incident or would have brood over his humiliation just like any other ordinary human being.

But he is a genius.

Think and act like a genius and look beyond what is happening in front of you!

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

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[Time-Management] Arise, awake and take charge!

 

31st March 2011

An ant on the move does more than a dozing ox.
Lao Tzu

Action is on any day better than inaction. It is better to do something rather than doing nothing. Great things in life are never achieved by inaction. Go and ask anyone. You will not come across anyone who can give even one example of a person who has achieved by doing nothing. You may be very powerful. You may have all the resources. You may have all the skill and knowledge. You may even have a very clear goal and a well chalked out strategy to reach your goal.

But, what is the use if you don't act?

Have you heard the old adage `slow and steady, win the race'? Great success has a simple formula. It is not how much work you put in. But it is about how steady and consistent you are. It is not how much hard you try. But it is about smart work. It is about continuity and follow-up.

A day in our life is a waste if we have not acted.

Check for the following traits in you by asking some simple questions:

  • Am I lazy?
  • Do I procrastinate?
  • Do I give up too soon?
  • Do I over plan but do little work?
  • How much of my time is not occupied by any work?
  • Do I waste my time? Do I sleep much more than what is required?

Try to answer these questions and see what happens to your plans and energy level!

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

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[Time-Management] Arise, awake and take charge!

 

30th March 2011

Fairness Audit….

If there is light in the soul,
There will be beauty in the person.
If there is beauty in the person,
There will be harmony in the house.
If there is harmony in the house,
There will be order in the nation.
If there is order in the nation,
There will be peace in the world.
--Chinese Proverb

Yearly we go for a health check up to find out our health status and based on the feedback we take corrective action. If we don't take timely remedial actions, we may land ourselves into a major health problem. With the world becoming more and more polluted, yearly master health check up is becoming very popular. Similarly the health of an organization is audited every year to check if there are any deviations from the approved regulations. Wrong practices are identified and counter measures taken to ensure that the issue is corrected in time.

While I was thinking about these practices, I thought that perhaps we should also be doing a fairness audit on ourselves. We have to be fair in all our actions with respect to the people with whom we work. They may be family members, our customers or colleagues.  Perhaps ask these questions to yourself:

·         Have I been fair to my parents for all that they have done to me?

·         Am I fair to my spouse?

·         Am I fair to those people who pay for my services?

·         Am I fair to the society in which I live?

·         Am I fair to my children?

·         Am I fair to my friends and relatives?

·         When I am in a public place, am I fair to the people around?

More importantly, you should also ask the question: am I fair to myself? After doing this self initiated fairness audit, check if this will tally with how others will perceive your fairness quotient.

N C Sridharan

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[Time-Management] Arise, awake and take charge!

 

29th March 2011

 `The best teachers of humanity are the lives of great men'

Charles H Fowler

Our thoughts shape our mindset and our mindset decides our actions and behaviours. Over a period of time what we do and how we act decide our character. Our internal image decides our external behaviour and image.

Modelling is a very interesting NLP technique. By modelling the mindset of successful people, we will over a period of time imbibe their character. Modelling using NLP is a detailed course which will transform your personality in an amazing way. In this piece I am going to give a simple exercise on how you can model successful people.

First decide a role model in your chosen field and your objective over the next thirty days is to model his way of thinking and mindset. With him as your role model, ask the following questions in everything you do:

  • If he were to get an idea, how will he use the same?
  • Will he spend his time in discussing unnecessary issues?
  • Is this something on which he will worry too much?
  • Will he get angry and upset on this issue?
  • If he were to be confronted with this problem, how will he solve?
  • For this occasion how will he dress?
  • If he were to meet the person I am going to meet today, how will he prepare?
  • If he were to disagree with others on this issue, how will he present his views?
  • If he were to be irritated in this context, how will he behave?
  • If he were to get angry on this occasion, how will he control his anger?

Try this modelling strategy sincerely and honestly and notice what happens to your personality!

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

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[Time-Management] Arise, awake and take charge!

 

28th March 2011

Free has no value!

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.

Mahatma Gandhi

We are witnessing an election in India and political parties are vying with one another to woo the voters with attractive social welfare schemes. Some political parties are offering a lot of free things. We have to understand some basic fundamental truth about how people will treat anything offered free or unasked for.

The other day I met a person who gave me a long list of free services he does for the society. He is running a free tuition center. He is a qualified mathematics teacher. I went to see his tuition center and was shocked to see that there are no takers for his free center. He is very upset that people do not respect his service. I also met a doctor who offers free medical consultation everyday from 4 pm to 6 pm. But there are no takers!

We have to serve the society and service to people is service to God. But the question is: do people value your service? If people do not value your service, any amount of free service will not be appreciated.

Anything given free has no value. What you offer to others should meet two qualifications:

·         People `yearn' for it so that they will respect the same.

·         People pay for your service, so that they realise the value.

In fact the more people pay for your time, the more you become respectable. Similarly, the scarcer the thing, the more valuable it becomes. The more freely a thing is available, the less valuable it will become.

One more point. If you offer something unasked, it will not have any value. It is a simple demand and soppy issue. The more the demand and lesser the supply, the more will be the value. The less the demand and more the supply, the lesser will be the value.

Over this weekend, check if you are offering anything free and how people value the same! If you still want to continue your service, that is the real service to God!

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

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[Time-Management] Arise, awake and take charge!

 

25th April 2011

 

If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster.
Stephen R. Covey

 

Recently the school final exams got over bringing a sign of relief not only to the students but also to the parents. In my experience in running a school, I always notice that the students who score the highest marks share some common traits. They are relaxed and very focussed. I used to see the students just before entering the examination hall. The best performing student is calm and composed while the average or the below average student is very tense and very serious in the last minute preparations.

 

I also observe the best student throughout the year. The only thing that makes them stand out from the crowd is the secret:

 

v     They do the right thing at the right time.

 

This simple principle applies to all of us. We may be doing the right thing, but the question is do we do it at the right time? It is very important do ask ourselves a question very frequently: what do I want and what should I do to get what I want? Am I doing the right thing now?

 

This link between our goal and our action is very important. It is very likely that we are not conscious about this factor.

 

Why not do a very powerful but simple exercise during the next week? Take a piece of paper and jot down every activity you do during every 30 minute very sincerely and honestly. Don't reveal the content to anyone. I call this as `time use log'. After logging your activities for a week, check if you have done the right thing and if what you did connected with what you wanted to achieve.

 

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

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[Time-Management] Arise, awake and take charge!

 

24th March 2011

 

Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.
Warren Buffett


I start my `time management' seminar with this statement: the phrase time management is universal bluff No.1'. I say this because we cannot try to manage something on which you have no control. We have no control on time and hence the phrase time management is a misnomer.

I also say in my seminar, what perhaps we should control is the output per unit of time, which I say is the productivity of time. We are judged by the value we produce for the society and not how much we cost. People will be willing to invest any amount on us, provided they see a reasonable return on investment. The more value we add to others' life, they value our time more.

Our time has a commercial value. This commercial value is called our salary. At the time of our recruitment, we work out the `cost to the company'. The cost to the company takes into account how much the company spends on us for getting our services. In my seminars I also talk about a `secret formula' to get the money value you fix for your time. The secret formula is hidden in the answer the following questions:

·         How much I cost the company? `A'

·         How much I contribute to the company? `B'

·         My value is B minus A.

·         My cost is A minus B.

For example if I cost the company Rs. 20,000/- per month, and create a revenue income of Rs. 25,000/- per month, my value is Rs. 5,000/-. Suppose you cost the company Rs.25,000/- and bring in a revenue of Rs.20,000/-? You are costing the company and you are not adding value.

Simple, isn't? If you want to increase your salary, the strategy is very simple: improve your contribution to the company!

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

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[Time-Management] Arise, awake and take charge!

 

23rd March 2011

Make it difficult and check your passion!

A strong passion for any object will ensure success, for the desire of the end will point out the means'

William Hazlitt

What are you doing for your living? What is your hobby? Do you love doing it? Are you willing to sacrifice and suffer for doing it? What will you do if someone stops you from doing it? On a day when you feel very lazy or when you are sick, will you still do it? What do you expect in return for doing what you do?

These are some of the questions I ask my participants in my time management programmes. This is the litmus test to check if you have the passion for doing what you are doing. Unless and until we have a passion, we will not take the pain to continue our activities with the same drive and interest. I am sure you would have noticed some people working very hard even though they need not work so hard. You would have also seen some people persevering even though they fail miserably. It is their passion which drives them.

Why don't you check if you have the passion for doing what you are doing? Do the following exercises:

  • If you are a writer and you use a computer to write, start writing with a pen and paper and check how long you are able to do it!
  • If you drive to your place of worship, resolve to walk and see if you are still regular to that place!
  • If you love cooking, decide not to use any kitchen machines and see if you are able to sustain the additional workload!

Once in a way make your job difficult and check if you still pursue what you do. If you pass this test, it means that you have a passion for doing what you are doing!

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

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[Time-Management] Arise, awake and take charge!

 

22nd March 2011

You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear. Do it! Develop an appreciation for the present moment. Seize every second of your life and savor it. Value your present moments. Using them up in any self-defeating ways means you've lost them forever.

Wayne Dyer

Time is a resource which cannot be saved or preserved. It cannot be stopped. You cannot speed up time. You cannot borrow time or lend it to someone. Isn't it strange that the most valuable resource comes to us absolutely free, but with all these conditions? It is like the capital in a business which is your only contribution.

You have to understand that when it comes to money or any other resource, you have an option not to invest it. But you are always investing your time on some activity or other. There is no such thing as `not working' or `not busy'. The only question is what are you working and what are you doing?

You cannot put the clock back. Lost time, spoken words and sped arrow will not come back. You should enjoy what you are doing. There may be some time when you go through a challenge in your life. Some experience may be even painful. You have to ask the question: can I change this? If the answer is `yes', then do get into action. If the answer is `no', then don't waste your time in trying to prevent it. It is like a tsunami on which we have no control, and all that we can do is to mitigate the after effects of the same.

Time will come when you'll regret for all those things you've not done. You may have many reasons for not having done those acts. May be some actions were impossible. May be someone denied you that option of doing it. Or you may not have had the skill or other resources for acting in a particular way. Whatever it is, the world will not treat you with any leniency. Self pity, self justification, rationalization, or any type of excuse will not be valid, and you have to handle the result of your inaction!

Just think: what is that you could have done last week and why didn't you do it? How you are going to handle the consequence of your inaction?

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

ooo

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