Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Time Check on Life! (must watch video)


Time Check on Life! (must watch video)

"...time is fleeting...madness takes it's toll", "...time meant nothing, never would again", these words (from the sound track "Time Warp" out of the cult movie "Rocky Horror Picture Show") have a very real and different meaning to all of us depending on what point on the timeline of your life you happen to be standing or otherwise.
For soldiers in combat, time management is essential. Successful operations against an intended target where firepower such as artillery, mortars and heavy weapons are used to keep the enemies head down and otherwise preoccupied is dependent upon a precise set of coordinated start and stop times as well as its accurate placement on the target area if your soldiers are to move over exposed ground to get to and neutralize the target without loss of life. A few seconds to early and you may give the game away, too late and you may injure or kill your own personnel.

For a project manager, its all about "Float" (Savvy PM's build in a little extra), resource coordination, crashing tasks and those golden words of "on time & on budget" hanging over everyone's head which in the end go to reputation, yours and your team and career advancement - up or sideways.

For a busy executive its managing your time spread across your tasks, meetings and appointments, leading your team and the list goes on. Meeting deadlines for reports, prioritizing and delegating all join the balancing act alongside your workout at the gym, a family members birthday party or a friends BBQ. When did you last take a holiday without the dread of an inbox full of email on your return packing its suitcase and coming along for the break as well. Sleep! ...who needs sleep, there's plenty of time for that when you're dead...Right?!

Regardless of who you are, what you do or where life takes you we all have one thing in common - a "FINITE" amount of time on this planet in which to experience the world and all it has to offer. Work-Life balance isn't some new buzz word, its here to stay and that balance needs to be realized a lot earlier in life than during the inevitable Mid life crisis.

Carnegie Mellon University lecturer Randy Pausch, diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2005, shared his thoughts on managing our time in an inspirational and motivating talk titled "Really achieving our childhood dreams". Randy has since passed away (2008) leaving behind a powerful message. A message that begs the question:


"...how much time do you really have left?"
I'd like to put that question in greater perspective for you by sharing this video.




The choice has always been there. What can you do to change the odds in your favor?



Posted by at
Labels: , , , ,

3 comments:

  1. AnonymousNovember 21, 2013 at 12:30 PM

    Hi Stu,
    Well said! You know that I always say "Do the best you can with today it was yesterday's tomorrow". No matter how much I say this or how much I say Amen Brother! to your comments I must still confess having lapses of complacency and stagnation. Ah, the ebb and flow of life, as the crashing of the waves on the rocks and cliffs bring forth change over time so must we continue to crash upon our present to shape our future. From battering comes beauty, in the words of Thomas Carlyle, "No pressure, no diamonds." we just can't be sure what that beauty will represent or who we will grow into. I can't help but hear the echo of Henry Brook Adams “Chaos was the law of nature; order was the dream of man.” I often wonder whether chaos and order are really different or is it really a fact that we are blinded by our knowledge and paralysed by our lack of connection to the universe. Will we one day gain a depth and magnitude of wisdom that allows us to truly see and understand? Look what you've done, now I'm excited and filling with wonderous questions, or was that your plan all along? Strength and honor, Dave

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. coalfacecoachNovember 25, 2013 at 12:08 PM

      Hi Dave, great to hear from you and thank you again for your motivating comments above. A wise man once said "...what is the one question you can ask that by the very nature of that question creates the greatest positive change?" As always I continue to grow with great council from good people such as yourself and others. Peace wisdom and happiness be the journey

      Delete
  2. coalfacecoachNovember 25, 2013 at 12:07 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

About Me

Started blogging in 2012 because I wanted to be a part of the internet, rather than just read from it. I began writing about time & workload management from my professional career as a trainer and coach in knowledge workers arena and leadership which I learned a lot about during my Army career. Since June 2002 I’ve worked in the coaching, training & development, planning, sales & customer service or security roles as a team member, facilitator, coach, coordinator or manager. Prior to that I was Senior Non-commissioned officer in the N.Z. Army retiring after 22.5 years. The first part of my military career was in the “doing” of being and leading soldiers. The last bit was spent in a variety of training and development roles from instructor to training development officer. For the final 2.5 years of my career I worked on a public facing youth development initiative collaborating with other govt. and private sector entities. Now living in the USA, I work 1 on 1 with busy professionals reshaping how they use their technology and desktop tools combined with best practice process to get stuff done on time with less stress and turn that elusive dream of work/life balance into a reality.

Followers