In the previous post we highlighted the first three areas of the quality of life, namely Family, Career & Finances.
Now let’s move to the second set of three.
Time Management & Organization: (Opportunities) Everyone has 24 hours a day, regardless of the social strata we belong to. Our ability to manage time will determine the opportunities we take advantage of and inevitably reflect on the quality of life we live.
To enjoy a higher quality of life, there is a need to properly manage time & to be highly organized.
There is so much to do in this modern age that it looks like 24 hours is not enough but I’ve discovered from experience that the difference between success & failure is the ability to manage yourself within time.
I remember juggling between my MBA , my demanding job & time with family & friends, it initially looked impossible, but in hindsight I basically did 2 things:
1) Prioritized my time properly to be able to handle everything. I basically reshuffled my time, slept very early, so I could wake up by 4:00 am to pray & read, then got my kids ready for school while my Wife & I got ready for work, we all left the house by 7:15 am. You can check out my post on setting the right priorities for more details.
In Steven Covey’s 7 habits of highly effective people, habit 3 talks about “putting first things first“,spend time doing what fits into your personal vision, observing the proper balance between production & building production capacity.
Identify the key roles that you take on in life & make out time for each of them.
2) I was highly organized. In relation to setting priorities, I also used Covey’s “Time Management Grid” which is basically a 2 by 2 matrix comparing Urgency vs. Importance. So if it’s urgent & important, I did it immediately, else I either shifted it to another time, delegate it or totally dump it.
Fun & Recreation: All work without play dulls our brain & my recent post on “Finding your Play” is very apt in this case.
Missing out on such things as our child’s first steps, family time, play time and other activities that helps us unwind puts a dent our quality of life. Remember the best things in life are free. Take time out to have fun & enjoy life to the fullest.
Personal Growth & Development (Learn): I am an ardent advocate of personal growth & development. Please check out my postings on the topic.
Life is a school & the minute you stop learning, you start dying. This is perhaps the most profound truth about living.
I am finishing up a post about “Modern Living” & the ability to constantly learn is a major factor in thriving in this new knowledge age.
What you know goes a long way to determine what you will earn & the kind of access you get in life.
You need to broaden your knowledge base. I recently had a speaking engagement with the Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship International Platinum Chapter in Abuja & I spoke on the topic “The 2 Laws” using Romans 8:1-2. I related it to career & personal development.
There is the Law of diminishing productivity & the Law of ever increasing success. Learning is a key part of success. You should know a little about everything to be able to engage in a good conversation with anyone, it could be sports, music,entertainment,politics, economy,Law, current affairs, etc.
To attain a higher quality of life, you need to consciously develop yourself by reading books ( hard copy or electronic), listening to CDs or audio books, watch inspirational & mind tasking movies, participate in seminars, organize focus groups, or join a club like Toastmasters, JCI, Rotary, etc.
Your NETWORK determines your NET-WORTH.
I will look at the last three areas in another post.
Major contributions to this post was made by Hanna Edia.
Hanna is a writer/blogger/publisher who reached out to me after reading my posts on “Pay it forward“.
She & her team have offered to work with me pro bono & I am grateful for that.
This is my snippet , I am SHALOMESQ!!!
Shalomesq Snippet 