The Art of Self-Management - 3

Time is a precious commodity. It remains unconquerable. It cannot be expanded, accumulated, mortgaged, hastened or retarded. The supply of time is fixed at a constant 24 hours per day no matter who you are. Time is beyond man's control. Managing the available time is, therefore, an important aspect of self-management. This leads me to the next suggestion.

Suggestion # 2 Respect thy Time

Make it a habit to rise early around the same time. Activities for the day need to be well planned and profitably utilized. Stress and strain, haste and anxiety are chiefly due to improper planning or absence of planning. You will avoid unnecessary tension if you observe the discipline of time. Have a time for every activity and do it to the best of your ability in the allotted time. Try always to be punctual. Postponement and advancement, speeding up and slowing down, limping and flaring up--are all indicative of poor time management.

Quite often, we lose a lot of time in searching for little things like pen, home/car/office keys, wallet, cell phone, belt, ID card etc. Set a place for every object and invariably make it a point to keep every object in its allotted space. We save thereby time and a lot of energy. We need not have to search for misplaced articles. If you have too many keys to handle, make sure each key is color-coded so that you don't waste time in trying out the keys. Proper labeling of files, CDs, tapes, kitchen containers, power cords for various devices etc can really help to pick out what you want quickly.

Too many things in a given space can give a cluttered look. Some habitats look almost like mini-jungles. Misplaced items are often difficult to find - at least until you buy a replacement. The advantages of organizing things properly and physical discipline are immense. You will not only save time and money but you will find the orderliness a beauty.

Hindu rituals attach a lot of importance to time management. In Indian marriages, we have an auspicious time earmarked as "Muhurtam". It is intended for the marriage to be solemnized during that period. The priests will drive everyone to ensure that the rituals are completed and 'managlyadharanam' (tying the sacred thread) is carried out before the 'Muhurtam' expires. The Hindu Almanac (panchangam) will generally specify the phases of the moon, times of eclipses, days and times for major festivals - all to enable planning of rituals. For every activity, there is a time.

Maintain a time calendar, schedule appointments and tasks. Nowadays, there are many electronic devices available for this purpose. One can use a PDA, a laptop computer, cell phone or an organizer. If you find it cumbersome to use an electronic aid, just keep a simple handwritten diary. Make sure it is updated everyday.

Avoid time-wasters and unproductive talks. There are people who talk and talk on matters that are of least concern to you. They are your time-stealers. Keep away from them.

We live in an era of time-saving devices- computers, pressure cookers, timers, cell phones and what not. Remember how cumbersome and time-consuming it was to correct a typo on manual typewriters. Today, it is history. As I type this on my computer, it is so easy for me to make corrections or rewrite! You can save a lot of time by selectively using some of the modern time-aid devices. One has to spend sometime to learn how to use such devices.

Respect thy Time! Invest in it. It will pay rich dividends and make you a better manager of yourself.

The Art of Self-Management - 2

How do we improve managing ourselves? My thoughts follow in the form of suggestions:

Suggestion # 1 Manage Your Health

As the old adage goes - Health is Wealth! Diet and exercise play an important part in keeping ourselves healthy. We like to eat and drink many things especially from restaurants but not all of them are good for our body. It is rather unfortunate that we are now living in an age of all-round pollution. The air we breath is polluted, the water we drink is often polluted, and we have everywhere impure food, adulterated food, fast food and just plain junk food. With the mad rush to somehow make money, many people eat unhealthy food and neglect to take care of their health. To maintain good health, it is essential that we develop regular eating habits.

Impure water is the cause for most diseases. In my travels to various construction sites in India, I have often seen manual workers drinking warm ginger water from a kettle-even on very hot days! They do not drink cold sodas though it might be tempting to do so in sweating conditions.They work hard, eat simple inexpensive food, and rarely get sick. You can see how healthy their children are by looking at their gleaming eyes!

Balanced diet with pure water, regular exercise and positive thoughts are essential ingredients to a healthy body. If the body is fed well but the mind is ill fed, then, it is nothing but slow poisoning. The evils of the minds will spoil the body. Our education and religion offer great material and one has to make the best use of them to nurture both the mind and intellect.

What is good food and how does one choose it? It depends on your age, your constitution, the type of work you do, and what is available around you. For a soldier fighting a war, meat and more quantities of food may be necessary. In contrast, a white collared worker may be content with a plain sandwich or wheat chappatis and some fruits. Good food includes cereals, milk, rice and/or wheat, fruits and vegetables (preferably organic). Choose the food that suits your constitution/occupation, whets your appetite, and gives you an overall healthy feeling.

Eat at regular intervals in moderate quantities. Do not overeat! Drink at least eight glasses of water everyday. Spiritual food is equally important as it helps to develop positive thoughts and steady the mind. So, read or recite some religious material daily -it can be anything from doing Surya Namaskar (Sun worship) or Sandyavandhanam, reciting or listening to Vishnu Sahasranamam, or just performing simple meditation in a quiet corner of your home. Devote some time for spiritual development everyday. It helps you to feed your mind with pleasant thoughts thereby contributing to good health.

More suggestions to follow.

The Art of Self-Management -1

Having worked for over three decades as a manager in several organizations, I am tempted to write a piece on the "Art of Self-Management". Managing oneself and managing an organization are intertwined. If one can effectively manage oneself, chances are better for a person to mould as an all-round manager. The purpose of my writing is to draw upon some of India's ancient wisdom and provide quick guidelines to learn the secrets of Self-Management. I intend covering the subject in several phases. This article is the first in the series.

Take a look at ourselves. Each one of us is a manager, consciously or unconsciously. Don't we manage our bodies, our homes, our money, our families and so on? Our growth is related to our ability to manage our thoughts and attitude towards the objects and individuals around us.

Swami Vivekananda said, 'Expansion is life. Contraction is death'. Expansion that is guided and managed positively for the welfare of all, is indeed good management. Self-management has to be both broad-based and goal-oriented, both for internal growth and external endearment.

When the whole world is changing rapidly, we cannot but change. So, this may be a good time to give a thought on how we should change and learn the techniques of improved Self-Management.

When we refer to self, we usually refer to personality, that is conditioned by behaviour. A sense of self is a connection to one's natural state of being. Once we are aware of our conditioning factors, we can also bring about a change in the conditioning. Recognize that self-management is conditioned by various factors. The most common factors are - I call them 4Is- Inertia, Impulse, Instinct and Intellect. Since it is believed that humanity evolved from the inert matter, impulsive plant kingdom and the instinctive animals, our intellect is to a great extent governed by them. Whether it is true or not, it does seem that among the human beings there is intelligence expressing itself as inert or inactive brain, as impulses, as instincts, as intellect and as intuition. All of us are governed by one or more of them. Every person is endowed with intellect. It is left to the individual either to use it, abuse it, ignore it, or make it powerful to make it intuitive. Much depends on how we use our intellect to conduct ourselves.

In short, Self-management is recognizing the conditioning factors, managing them and improving one's own intellect. When the intellect is not used, it is inertia. When it is sporadically used, it is impulse. When it is silently used, it is instinct. When it is actively used, it is reason or discrimination or rationalism. However, if it learns from earlier mistakes and blossoms into better judgement in every situation, it becomes intuition. Effective Self-management should unfold that latent intuition.

Ancient Wisdom

Our ancestors lived in an environment conducive to contemplation, meditation and self-luminous intuition. The world today has significantly changed. We now live in the age of cut-throat competition, high-speed internet and instant results, materialism, selfishness, and globalization. Survival is getting tougher. Morals are getting outmoded. Righteousness is becoming scarce.

Despite such a frightening scenario, let us not lose hope. Divinity is hidden in each of us. Let us take guidance from our ancient scriptures. all and dynamism is the conspicuous trait of the youth. Direction is the need of the hour. The latent light of Godliness will very soon shine well for the well being of all.

We often hear of the words "Aham Brahmasmi" meaning 'I am Brahma". Hinduism believes that each soul is potentially divine. That means, we have the ability to outgrow all inertia, impulses, instincts and perversions, and thereby shine with inherent radiance. Our thoughts affect our character and eventually our destiny. Let us draw upon the experience of our wise ancestors and learn the art of self-management.More to follow.