Where did the weekend go? Back to work tomorrow. Judging from the new counter I installed on this blog, I have a few more days to go before everyday is a weekend. It never ceases to amaze me how fast weekends go by. They seem to be over in the blink of an eye. Why is that? I plan every minute of my work week. I use time management techniques to ensure that I am as efficient as possible. My weekends on the other hand, are for the most part experienced in free fall. So does that say I should plan my weekend and let the chips fall as they may during the week? Interesting concept. Planning buys me time during the week. Maybe it can help me extend my weekends. At least create the perception that I have more time. I think it boils down to planning creates the illusion of time. We all know that time is a fixed resource. We need to find ways to utilize the time we have available to its fullest extent. You know where I am going with this don't you? Yes, back to the retirement discussion. I think that time management will be a critical component to a fulfilling retirement. Free falling through retirement will be sure to diminish any feeling of self worth and accomplishment. Time management can help ensure that each day is lived with a sense of purpose. It may be more critical to manage ones leisure time than it is the time that is controlled by the structure of your job. Retirement is like the Super Bowl of life. You can bet that Tom Brady and Eli Manning both had a plan to manage every second they had the ball when they started last weeks big game. We should be prepared to control retirement with the same commitment. Sam says: Be ready!
February 10, 2008
January 14, 2008
Bless Me Father For I Have Sinned...
Bless me Father for I have sinned. It has been 3 days since my last blog! I started reading "The 4-Hour Workweek" and am in the midst of a major values melt down. I have always been addicted to time management, and this book has basically told me to throw time management out the window. Ouch! I think I will hold off until I have finished the book and digest the content for a while. I do like the concepts that are being presented. A combination of the Pareto principle and Parkinson's law. If you aren't familiar with the Pareto principle, it basically says that you can apply the rule of 80/20 to almost anything. What does that mean? It means that 20% of the work that you do creates 80% of the value, or 80% of the money in the world is in the pockets of 20% of the people, or 80% of the smog is caused by 20% of the businesses. You can apply it to almost anything. Parkinson's law says that if you must work 8 hours per day, you will find activities to fill the 8 hours. Even if the activities are not essential, you will do them to fill up the time. The point made in the book is that if you set aggressive time limits for tasks that you must complete, you will finish them quicker without filling up the time with non value added activities.
Combining the Pareto principle and Parkinson's law, will allow you to focus on the 20% of the work that you are getting 80% of the value out of and get that work done without a lot of wasted time. It sound simple enough. If I apply this recommendation to the work I need to complete before I can retire, I should be ready next week. Oh wait, the author, Timothy Ferriss, says that retirement as I know it is a bad idea. I guess I am going to have to finish the book before I can make any rash decisions.
