In a past post, I talked about the importance of time management. Something I’ve thought about since then is that efficient time management is sometimes less important than effective time management. I’ll explain what I mean in the remainder of this post.
When I think of efficient time management, I think of someone who works nonstop from dawn to dusk. I remember days I’ve had like this, days where I didn’t have a spare minute from the time I woke up to the time I went to bed. My time management was as efficient as it’s ever been on those days because I had no time to waste. Those were also some of the most exhausting days of my life and I’m glad they’re behind me. In contrast, when I think of effective time management, I think of arranging my day such that I can keep my commitments and still have plenty of free time to spend as I like, which includes relaxing and enjoying the still moments. My down time isn’t efficient from the standpoint of getting as much done as possible, but it is effective in the sense that it refreshes me and I can enjoy it at my own pace. Essentially, I like to be efficient with my time in some areas so that I can be inefficient with it in other areas.
Here’s an example that nicely captures my thoughts on this. Someone once told me about a guy they knew (probably in college) who set up his classes in a very specific way: he spent all day in class for a few days and then had four straight days to surf. He found a way to free up a lot of time to do what he loved while still keeping up with his responsibilities. I don’t know what he was like as a person since I never met him, but I suspect that he spent his surfing days relaxing, living in the moment, and taking it easy. If so, then his story is a perfect example of maximizing time efficiency in one area and minimizing it in another area. I do things a bit differently since, as I mentioned in the previous paragraph, I prefer to not be busy working all day without much of a break. However, like the guy in that story, I try to get my tasks done quickly and properly whenever I have an obligation to fulfill (such as when I’m at work) so that I can soon be free to pursue my own interests. I also do this with the things I’ve committed myself to completing every day on my own time. Further, it’s important that I do things the right way rather than just focusing on working fast; if I have to do them again because I rushed through them the first time, that at the very least doubles my workload and gives me a lot less free time. So from an efficiency perspective, it’s actually better to take a little more time to do things right than to do them sloppily due to working too fast.
I’ve been familiar the distinction between efficient time management and effective time management, but it wasn’t until recently that I really thought it through and fleshed out my perspective. This is one of several areas in which I practiced something without consciously realizing exactly what I was doing. Whenever I have one of these realizations, I like to write it out and share it with others. That helps me remember it and use it regularly and makes it available for anyone who might also benefit from it. I hope you’ve found this interesting and helpful for managing your time, and I will see you next time.