A Fine Use of Time

Ibn Sina or also known as Avicenna lived from 980 to 1037 AD. He wrote more than 450 books on many different philosophies among which is the fourteen volume Canon of Medicine. This book, together with another masterpiece, Book of Healing were standard textbooks in European universities for more than 500 years.

Assuming Ibn Sina was occupied with growing up and studying for the first 18 years of his life, that gave him about 40 years to do his research and write more than 450 books. A truly astonishing feat. A wonderful use of talent. A fine use of time.

About Choices

Life is about making choices. From the moment you get up in the morning till you go to bed at night, you would have hundreds of choices.

From the choice of breakfast, to the attire you are going to wear for the day, till you reach your desk in the office, you would have made several important choices already. Any of these choices can go bad. And you are several more to make during the course of the day. None is 100% guaranteed to be the right one.

If you start thinking long and hard about all the choices you must make, you are going to be immobilized. Fear will creep in. Imagine spending time pondering about breakfast, and you would have spent considerable mental energy going through all the ifs and whats.

So you and I don't usually spend too much time choosing the routine stuff but we cannot go through life making choices as simple as choosing our morning meals.

There are things that you must consider thoroughly. The choice of your career for instance needs more thinking than choosing to have coffee or green tea in the morning. The time you take to choose your place of dwelling definitely requires more thought than choosing to wear a yellow or red shirt to the office.

Certain things in your life needs careful thought, analysis and sometimes even soul searching. But not all.

We live in a finite world and our time here is fixed. So do not waste too much time on things that are routine. Save your energy for the big ones.

Take a Break

Learn to take a break from your tasks.

The harder and more focused you are in your work, the breaks should be more frequent.

Just like a sprinter who can sprint for a certain time before tiring, your mind tires faster if you are engaged in tasks that requires high concentration.

Taking a timely break will also give you a boost of energy and is a great anti-stress mechanism.

So, go ahead and have a little break when you need it.

Divide and Conquer

Learn to do this and you can even build an empire.

For all the courage and naval strength of the British empire during its heyday, it was the mastery of this tactic that held it together.

Breakdown your tasks into small manageable portions and then complete it. You have a paper to write then tasks may be:

1. Jotting down the ideas

2. Organizing the ideas

3. Connecting the ideas

4. Writing

5. Editing

6. Re-writing

Also you must set an acceptable time limit to each task. Don't take more time than required to complete a task. Take only short breaks between tasks. Try completing before the scheduled date.

This is a way to beat feeling overwhelmed by work.

Inspirational Writings #14

The Present - Author Unknown

Imagine there was a bank that credited your very own account each morning with a large sum of money. But, it carried over no balance from day to day. Every evening it deleted whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. What would you do? Draw out all of it, of course!

Each of us has such a bank. Its name is - Time. Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft.

Each day it makes a new deposit for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours. There is no going back. There is no drawing against the "tomorrow." You must live in the present on today's deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness, and success!

The clock is running. Make the most of today. And remember that time waits for no one. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. But today is a gift. That's why it's called The Present!

Just Say No

One of life's great lessons is knowing when to refuse. Not only you should know when to refuse others but most importantly you must refuse yourself. There are many trivial things that will seek your attention, sucking away your time from the real important things, refuse them. Keep away from meddling into the affairs of others and keep away others from meddling with yours.

Refuse your friendship to those who you are suspicious of. Refuse the salesman who approaches you in your office. Refuse the desire for immediate gratification.

To refuse one activity frees up time for another. Always give your time to things the matters most to you and always have time for yourself.