Time Mismanagement

Time. There's never enough of it. I'm reminded of what the Ghost of Christmas Present told Scrooge (as played by Albert Finney): "There is never enough time to do or say all the things that we would wish. The thing is to try to do as much as you can in the time that you have. Remember Scrooge, time is short, and suddenly, you're not here any more." Since time is short and there is never enough of it, I think it behooves everyone with responsibilities to learn to manage their time wisely.

Take for example my life. I work full-time during the week, from 8:30 am to 5 pm, with the exception of Wednesdays, when I leave work at 4 pm to attend my ENGL 215 class, or Fridays, when I must stay at work until 6 pm in order to make up for the missed hour on Wednesdays. Weekdays seem to go quickly, like a flash, so whatever time I must spend on work and schoolwork must be done on the weekends. That sounds simple enough, but I have other commitments as well. The wife.

I love my wife very much. She doesn't work outside the home, so she is the classic "homemaker." For most of the work week, I don't see her. When I come home, I'm too tired to fool around with her, although she has crafty seductress ways to get me in the mood. Basically, I need to wait for the weekend to spend quality time with her. Add to this equation an elderly grandmother (who I also love dearly), who sits at home all the time like a bored house cat. I need to find the time to take her out of the house as well, perhaps to church, where she feels most comfortable and can speak with her senior set of friends and other familiars. So there goes Sunday mornings! Beginning to see a pattern here, my friend?

Time is precious. Those who know how to balance their time well may consider themselves to be wealthy individuals. Those who cannot manage their time well enough may frown at their situation (like me) and find themselves to be hopelessly impoverished and always at a deficit. The loss of time in everyday life reminds me of Salvador Dali's most famous painting "Persistence of Memory" with the melting watches on a surreal landscape. No matter what art critics have said about the painting, there is something within the imagery that strikes a chord. It is the lament of the procrastinator that I see. The watches take the shape of how I feel when there just isn't enough to complete a project at work, to compose a writing assignment for my college course, or to keep my wife happy. So what is a guy to do?

The key to the proper management of time is simple, but seems contradictory. The key is sleeping. How do you gain time by doing something that actually makes you lose time in the process? Of course, the mere act of sleeping doesn't help you gain time, unless you were expecting to spend that time in bed. No, what I mean is that sleeping rests your body and your mind. Giving yourself the time to recharge those internal batteries also gives you more "quality time" to perform the tasks and complete the work you need to do when awake. As Benjamin Franklin once famously said: "Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." Truer words have never been spoken and reading between the lines of Franklin's words gives you the key to managing your time.

So, off to bed I go. To sleep perchance to dream of the persistence of memory when time flies like the wind and fruit flies like bananas. Shakespeare, Dali, Groucho...those are the sheep I count to help me fall asleep!

Time's up, son. Goodnight.

~Andrew K.