Time Management?

Why Bother?

I was once in Geneva, sitting by the lake, watching the famous fountain in what any passerby would assume was a very relaxed situation. However, in my mind were a thousand and one tasks I had to get through, for which there was a clear and hard consequence for not completing. These tasks had one by one accumulated, and the number had become what I felt was insurmountable to the extent that my mind made a simple mathematical calculation and said, it will not be possible to complete all of these in the time I have, therefore you cannot succeed. At that point, when success was not possible, why should I bother continuing? So I just sat by the lake quite peacefully looking at the ducks and the water, and feeling quite honestly, helpless. When the Sun began to set, reality hit home even more; I would now need to face the consequences when I speak to all those people I am accountable to. I thought about what had gone wrong. I was not managing my time properly. I was not focussed enough, not getting through tasks diligently or aggressively enough, and was facing the resultant situation. Gathering my belongings to get to the airport, I was still not focussed on the specific tasks, I was focussed on the root problem; my time management. It needed to improve, and fast. I would explain to my bosses and apologise, but the deeper issue needed to b e addressed nevertheless, otherwise it would keep cropping up. I went to the airport book shop, and purchased a book on time management, the Harvard Business School best-seller; a compilation of numerous leadership gurus tips on managing time. It was quite practical, explaining how to prioritise e-mails, and a number of other tips, and to be honest, it resulted in some more focus, and I was able to address the issue with some degree of success. However, over the years, my understanding of time management, became a little more rounded and continues to do so. There are some fundamentals that we should know regarding the inherent nature of time, which will help us not to manage time, but to respect it, and manage ourselves more consciously.

 

A Misunderstood Concept

The phrase “Time Management” was coined long ago, and is a completely accepted term by most people. It is also consistently understood. However, if we pick at the topic a little more, the branding doesn’t hold so strongly. Time is defined as “the indefinite continued progress of existence.” Management is defined as the “process of dealing with controlling things or people.” If not understood properly, the term can easily be interpreted to mean “controlling the continued progress of existence.” About a year ago I had a stint of work that led me to be in Japan, the US, and the UK all in one week. It was somewhat overwhelming, and I asked a very elevated spiritual practitioner how one should go about managing time. He smiled and replied, “Well, there are 24 hours in the day.” Whilst he spoke only those few words, they had immense implications.  Krishna says in the Bhagavat Gita, which comprise the Supreme Lord’s direct instructions to His friend and disciple Arjuna, who stands before a huge battle, that He is Time. The Supreme Lord says that He is Time! He also says that He is beyond the control of any material factors. So by this definition, it is impossible to control time. From a spiritual perspective, the term Time Management in a material sense, is in itself an oxymoron, or a contradiction. If we understand this well, we will become more pragmatic in the field of managing our activities, and will always remind ourselves of what we really can control, and what we cannot. This will lead to a far more mature dealing with time, a respect for time, and above everything, a more conscious and grounded experience with time.

 

Behind the Scenes

Once we understand that the “time” part of the time “time management” equation is fixed, beyond our control, we should understand that the “management” aspect should be regarded as management of the self, or our actions. In one sense, we could argue that we do not have so much direct control over these as sometimes factors beyond our control dictate what we do i.e. some urgent client prompted meetings, time out for certain appointments, personal factors, and so on. So even our actions, whilst majority of the time they should be under our control if we are disciplined and circumstances permit, they aren’t necessarily under our direct control. Whilst external factors can dictate our actions, external factors will seldom dictate or mandate our thoughts. For example, we daydream. We may be daydreaming in a meeting. Your boss cannot get into your mind and force you to stop daydreaming. He or she may be able to mandate you to be in the office, but they certainly cannot check and mandate your thoughts. They cannot mandate our desires. Thoughts or contemplation lead to desires, and desires lead to action. The timeframe for this isn’t necessarily immediate, and may vary drastically, but on the whole we will find it is true. We may remember a person very deeply. This may make us want to talk to them. We will then find a way to talk to them, and then we will be in touch with them. So thoughts and desires, we can control if we are disciplined. If we are disciplined in our thoughts, the corresponding desires will be encouraged, and eventually the right actions will emerge. Time continues to go by, but because our thinking is conscious, considerate of wider factors, considerate and with a willingness to serve others, our actions will follow this in a way that becomes more independent of circumstance because it becomes to do with the consciousness, the mentality, and then there is satisfaction. Determination, attentiveness, diligence can also be desired. To desire to be efficient and diligent in meeting deadlines can also be cultivated and meditated upon at the right times, and if we imbibe this into our minds, we will be far more likely to have this attitude manifest in our work-life realities in the all-powerful and pervasive domain of time.

Selfless Leadership

Bird or Plane?

In the busy Hong Kong rush hour, walking in the crowds of business people in Central, you often see tourists who have chosen the wrong time and are struggling to take photos. I saw lots of tourists trying to cram themselves into a certain spot from where they could get a good view and angle. They were eagerly hustling with each other to get into the spot. If one didn't know better, one would have assumed the Starship Enterprise was going to be visible from that spot! I was facing toward these tourists, so I could not see what they were trying to take a photo of, and so I turned around to see. It was the ICBC Tower, one of the most well known buildings in the Hong Kong skyline, and an icon of the City’s financial prowess and link with China. Because I see it every day on the way to work, on weekends when commuting to most places, and also from my living room window, it doesn’t have the same appeal to me as it did to these tourists, who were desperately trying to get a good shot of it. The same kind of effect we experience when we travel Business class on an airline. When we have never been on First or Business class before, it appears to be a huge novelty and we have a degree of reverence. But over time, this novelty factor wears off and we take it for granted. When we take things for granted, it changes our mentality and it is the same dynamic that makes us less effective when applied in the corporate context. Being in Hong Kong, there are incredible opportunities to work with some of the most intelligent, sharp, and dynamic business people. As the rest of the worlds economies, and to a lesser extent the Asian economy continues to slide, more of the worlds finest are working more closely with Asia. I have the privilege of co-developing thoughts, industry leadership with such people, who are so open and accessible. However, if I treat them like I treat the ICBC, I will simply not appreciate and want to get as much as possible from the experiences. Therefore, over-familiarity, a lack of appreciation for what we have access to in the corporate place, can lead to a decline in our desire to maximise the value it brings to us and others also.

Grateful or complacent?

After spending so long away from Hong Kong, and during a time of year when physical training doesn’t make the top of the list, it was return to the gym on a more frequent basis here. There were certainly some notable realisations coming from this regarding whether I am focussed and grateful, or whether I become complacent as time goes on. In the UK, I had the privilege of training at one of the UK’s better Muay Thai schools, and experiencing how they do things after having trained in equivalents in Thailand and Hong Kong. Although they didn’t have Thai trainers, who in my opinion are the most natural in their abilities, physiques, and techniques, they made use of some excellent routines. There was a longer, albeit less diversified warm up, and there was less equipment, so we had to figure different ways of doing more with less. I observed a boxing session in my gym, and learned some of their techniques also. When I got back to Hong Kong, the fitness level had been sustained to some extent, and I had developed more gratitude towards the Kru’s (teachers), and the elaborate facilities. This cultivated a desire to do more, and combined with some of the techniques picked up in the UK, it made for a fantastic first session. There was mutual respect with the teachers, and we progressed the complexity and speed of moves, blocks, and taking hits to condition the body. Walking out of the gym and seeing the newcomers, I could see that I had progressed somewhat. I had a choice of continuing to think about my progress and me, or to think about them and how they feel. I did the latter and it again made for some very nice exchanges. In the corporate environment, we see extremely senior people put others first, be so inquisitive and interested in others. If they do it, it is likely to be a winning attitude, and it is clear we should try to follow in their footsteps to success.

The Choice is Ours

On returning to Hong Kong, the temperature was in the mid-twenties, and the sun was blazing. I was trying to read a message on my Blackberry. For some moments I could only see my reflection due to the Sun, a similar affect when someone is wearing very shiny sunglasses and it is hard to see their eyes, but not impossible. When I focussed, I could read the message, and saw beyond the shine. The position of the phone was exactly the same. But the focus of my eyes had changed. I was quite fascinated. When my brain wanted to read the message, the eyes would respond by changing focus to the message. When I wanted to pay more attention to the reflection, my eyes automatically adjusted. It was a penetrating lesson in so many ways. If we want to see ourselves first in any situation, we can easily do this. In fact, that was the default viewing I began with after being overwhealmed by the influence of the sun all around.  By default, the world will encourage this approach of putting ourselves in the centre. How does this dynamic affect our progress in the corporate world? I recalled a time when I was a Graduate. A senior person who didn’t have a very good way with people, and I had just come off of a below par interaction with him. Immediately after that, I had another meeting. I had very little time in between; literally only the time needed to walk from one meeting to the other. He had impacted my mood, outlook, everything. Having not had so much experience dealing with tough people, I needed more time to gather myself. I thought, I can either carry the energy from the previous meeting into the next one, or start afresh. Did the people in the next meeting deserve me being in a more sour mood? Probably not. So why carry the baggage? I decided to completely let it go, and it was hard because we often have the tendency to think about ourselves. When we are aware of the dynamic of whether we are putting ourselves at the centre, or whether objective and have the wider goals and longer terms goals in the centre, we will find it easier to at least theoretically move forwards mentally, and over time this theory will become practise. Of course, we will address what needs to be addressed because we should be concerned with ensuring the principle of integrity and fairness is enforced, however if we think in this way, we will not let our personal ambition get in the way of acheiving truly big things.  

Attitude: Importance of Groundedness

Whilst resolutions and aims that are tangible, measured, and time-bound are absolutely necessary, often it is our ‘attitude’ that leads to the achievement of these, and possibly much more than what we specify. So this article is about attitude, and hopefully it is relevant for all, but more relevant for those who are succeeding at present. Even though the need to avoid personal complacence is so evidently essential in attaining lasting success, whilst it is spoken about by people sometimes, it is seldom taught in training, reading, and other forms of management learning. An easy way of avoiding complacence is by comparing ourselves not with our peers, or those who aren’t advanced as us, but to those who are superior. I was fortunate to hear from spiritual teacher, Bhakti Rasamrita Swami recently who provided three useful tools we can use in this regard by giving examples of three addresses of God, which when compared with ourselves, should help us keep our feet on the ground at all times.
 

Cause of all Causes

I led the execution of a project that went well a few months back, and when people heard of the project, they immediately look to who was responsible for organizing it. Eventually you become associated with it, and it's success. A few months later, a similar project was to be executed again, and this time I was not in town to oversee it all. It was as successful, and in fact achieved some additional things that the first project didn’t. I wasn’t even there for the execution. In business, no matter how much one thinks that they are successful and the factor that holds things up, the environment is such that there will almost always be people likely to step up and make up. So we should never come under the illusion that we are irreplaceable, and are responsible for the success that comes. There are a number of benefits of this kind of awareness; an attitude where the leaders know they are not the all in all cause, will cultivate more respect for those contributing in every way they do. If we are aware we are not the all-in-all, we will likely be more giving with our knowledge to others, to ensure things can indeed continue at least as successfully, if not even more successfully when we are not there. One senior business leader in Hong Kong said to me recently that senior executives living in places where there is enormous avenue for personal recreational enjoyment, are reluctant to relocate back to their home countries as they don’t want to give up these luxuries. This leads to them ‘guarding’ their roles, and not developing an environment where succession is planned very well. An attitude of being aware that we are not the cause of all causes, that it is about others helping in success, will lead to a very mature way of leadership that will lead to far greater scale results in the long term. In this connection, Bhakti Rasamrita Swami explains how one of the names of God is ‘Akhil Karanaya’ or the ‘Cause of all Causes’. Any action or event has a number of causes that lead up to it. Perhaps the end action or event we may take the credit for, but we certainly cannot take credit for all actions and events leading to it. Such an approach that needs to be managed carefully, and not necessarily externally demonstrated, but should always be known inside to keep ourselves grounded at all times.
 

Without any Cause

Robin van Persie, recent recruit at Manchester United, after scoring a record number of goals by any high profile signing who has moved from one big club to another said, he feels like he is in a team of champions. Clearly his own effort and ability are big, but he credits so much to the others around him to help him achieve the success he has so far. Books on achieving greatness always talk about learning from those who have been successful. People have idols, or others who provide inspiration to continue. This principle of learning from others and gaining inspiration from others is universal and clearly applies in world of arts, sport, and business. Therefore, is it just humility alone that leads to crediting these others when success is achieved? Not really. It is just honesty on the situation. The fact is that more often than not, our path and success has more causes external than us than just us on our own. We can certainly achieve more if we learn from others. If it seems our success is purely based on our hard work, we should question whether we are really accessing others as much as we could be to achieve more. Bhakti Rasamrita Swami in this connection says that God is the only Person with no cause, or ‘Nish Karanaya’, and that everything and everyone else has so many causes both immediately, and ‘behind the scenes.’ The result of this is awareness in the corporate and also personal context is that we acknowledge that our success has many causes, and that when this is attributed to these other sources, we become grounded, and also cultivate a mood of further learning.

Most Wonderful Cause

We also often see that very successful people do not boast about their qualities and achievements. Rather, they sometimes look to their shortcomings. What better way to cultivate a mood of improvement, which is so important for success. There is a spiritual story where a personality called Dhruva Maharaj entailed in thousands of years of meditation in the previous ages on the Supreme Person, in order to attain rulership of opulent kingdoms upon pleasing the Supreme Person. After this many years of meditation, his attitude and his goals changed. He became self-realised, and did not have such a strong desire for these things, but ended up meditating on the Supreme Person with a pure motive, not for kingdoms etc. When the Supreme Person appeared before him, Dhruva Maharaj recalled his motive so many thousands of years ago, and said how unfortunate he was to have cultivated such a desire although having given up such an attitude thousands of years ago. In our own lives, Bhakti Rasamrita Swami cites that we may even be the cause of so many things, but not all of those things are wonderful, however God is the most wonderful cause – Adbhuta Karanaya. We will have done certain things that did not have wonderful outcomes, where there is learning to be taken away, and we should be aware of this as we succeed also. This has a number of benefits; if we note our shortcomings, we will tend to be more consultative in our style, and therefore attract more collaboration, joint wins rather than individual efforts. The above points are all concerned with attitude, and should be considered and implemented with great caution and awareness of the particular dynamics and individuals we work with.