Responsible people grew up believing they had to finish their homework before they could go out and play. Unfortunately, the homework never seems to end.
Being electronically-connected with each other and everything seems to be more of a burden than an asset too.
There’s a strong tendency for humans to do everything they are able to do. Combine compulsion with constant connectivity and the workday need never end. Cellular phones and the Internet make it too easy to contact anyone, anytime. With information always available online, we can keep clicking forever.
Business executives send and receive hundreds of e-mails a day. They feel totally natural being electronically tethered to business partners and clients most of the day. The computer is more of a long-distance intercom. They are on the Net for half of the day, often generating hundreds of instant messages while “chatting” to several people in separate, simultaneous conversations.
I never really feel like I’m finished for the day. There’s always one more task, one more call, one more e-mail. E-mail and text messages ratchet up our stress levels in ways we’re only starting to understand. Each message requires multiple judgment calls that tax the neural network.
But as human beings, we have a choice. So, let us try to do the following in order not to be caught up with this “e-stress”:
- Set limits.
- Make a task list.
- Stick to a scheduling.
The heart of time management is to set priorities and then to consolidate and implement around them.
You can do things if you plan ahead and work for it.