In a hurry

Time Management - May 19,2019 - No Comment

Alway in a hurry.

That sums up today’s typical youngster. In a hurry to enter a study program or course. Then, to acquire a degree. Afterwards, to find a lucrative job or build a busy practice. Get famous. And rich.

All in a hurry.

Yet ‘time’ is a strange concept. It moves at its own pace. You can’t speed it up.

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished” – Lao Tzu

Looking back at how my career path unfolded might be instructive. I got into graduate training programs successively, without ‘wasting’ any years by not getting selected. Yet by the time I got my Masters degree in cardiovascular surgery (which, back then, was a 2-year program), I was 29 years old!

How did that happen? You enter medical school at age 17. It’s 5 and half years. Graduate training in general surgery takes 3 more years. And it requires another 2 years to specialize. That should add up to 27 and a half.

So… where did the extra 18 months go?

Delays. Unavoidable ones. Someone filed a case against the selection process for our All-India PG entrance test. It took 6 months to clear. The super-specialty entrance exam got postponed by 3 months.

And sometimes, timing was off. Despite our batch being rushed to complete internship before the deadline date, there were still mandatory gaps of a few months before I could take the next steps.

I was down with viral hepatitis (thankfully A, not B) for 6 weeks.

At the time, being in a hurry, all of this was frustrating. Everything seemed to move agonizingly slowly.

But in the end, those ‘compulsory’ speed-breaks were really immaterial. They didn’t set me, or my career, back in any major way.

During the wait for the court case to clear, I worked in a cardiac surgery unit – and gained priceless exposure to almost every kind of major heart surgery… even before I entered my general surgery program.

In the period between graduate and specialist training, I worked in a remote Primary Health Centre – where I learned the basics of small hospital administration… that served later in helping manage a surgical unit.

What’s my point?

Nothing is ‘wasted’.

There’s no ‘delay’ – except inside YOUR head. Every bit of time spent along the path to becoming whatever you want to be is actually useful, in one way or another.

So don’t be in a hurry all the time.

Instead, focus on HOW BEST you can use any ‘forced delays’ imposed on your career path. Whether you consciously take advantage of them or not, they’ll still end up making you a different kind of person.

4 Reasons Why Everyone Needs Time Management Skills

Time Management - Mar 07,2019 - No Comment

At a recent college reunion, twenty-five years after we first entered college, I met many old classmates and re-learned one important lesson.

Being Time Efficient Is HIGHLY Profitable!

One theme kept popping up over and over again in our conversations.

“Our kids rarely get to see their dad, he’s so busy!”
“I go to work at 6 a.m. and get back around 7 in the evening!”
“My son WON’T be a doctor – because he sees how crazy our schedule is!”

And invariably, the next question is: “As a surgeon, you must be working very long hours, right?”

They were all surprised when I said my average ‘work day’ at the hospital is 2 hours – except when I’m operating, when it is 7 hours (or longer, depending upon how complex the surgery is).

How do I manage this?

How do I have so much “free time” when everyone else has “No Time”?

How am I juggling so many exciting projects in ADDITION to my regular work?

It’s really quite simple. Let me explain.

Waiting Time? Or Wasting Time?

Time Management - Dec 25,2018 - No Comment

The abstract concept we call time is a funny thing.

We all know what it is. We all struggle to define, explain and actually understand it.

The same applies to the idea of wasting time. We experience it, but often can’t really describe it.

That’s why this excerpt from an article on ‘Mind Pickings‘ about waiting, with quotes from Jason Farman‘s book, caught my eye:

“Waiting points to our desires and hopes for the future; and while that future may never arrive and our hopes may never be fulfilled, the act of reflecting on waiting teaches us about ourselves. The meaning of life isn’t deferred until that thing we hope for arrives; instead, in the moment of waiting, meaning is located in our ability to recognize the ways that such hopes define us.”
Jason Farman, in ‘Delayed Response‘

And it embarked upon an intriguing explanation about the concept of time itself.

9 Secret Keys To Success In 2018 – And Beyond

Time Management - Nov 06,2017 - No Comment

Easy Ways To Transform Your Life And Rocket To Success

Over the years, I have written over 3 million words.

(How? I’ll tell you soon in ‘Intentional Practice’)

Some of it has been blunt, direct, hard-hitting prose. Some has been ornate, stylish poetic writing.

Either style works for getting people to read and take action.

The key is that the content is relevant, practical and actionable. That’s all that really matters.

So for this collection of secrets to help you succeed in 2018 and beyond, I’m going to take the straight, no-nonsense approach, okay?

I’m gonna give it to you just the way it is.

No frills. No fuss. No moralizing.

And you can take it – or leave it. Your choice. It’s your life, after all.

I hope you’ll give it a shot and see how it transforms you in the coming year.

3 Easy Steps To Your Successful 2019

Time Management - Dec 03,2016 - No Comment

A Simple Approach To Transform Yourself In The Coming New Year

It’s that time of the year when you look back at how far you’ve come, how much you’ve achieved… and heave a sigh of regret!

93% of those surveyed about accomplishments in business and life over the course of last year said that they were NOT satisfied with their performance.

So what did the other 7% do which made all the difference?

I decided to find out – and it boils down to just 3 simple steps that they took, like learning how to focus. Turns out that these are easy for you to follow, too. And they will transform your success in the coming new year!

Step #1: Improve Your Focus

Distraction is the biggest enemy that keeps you from reaching any milestone you set for yourself.

You begin a new year, eager and excited about doing big things. But very soon after you launch into your action plan, something else comes up – and you lose focus.

Time Management – Do You Know Where Your Time Goes?

Time Management - Jul 22,2015 - No Comment

A few months ago, I downloaded a tiny time management application that runs on my desktop computer where I work online.

It runs in the background, unobtrusively. I don’t even notice it.

Once every week, I receive an email in which there’s a summary time management report – about how I spend my online time.

It is always eye-opening.

This is how a summary report might look:

Rescue Time Report - Time Management Tool

When I hover over the bars on the right side, it gives me a break-up of which websites or applications I’ve spent time on.

This Time Management Exercise Will Enhance Productivity

Time Management - Jul 19,2015 - No Comment

A time management exercise that makes you more efficient and productive does not have to be elaborate or complex. It can be as simple as being sure to think out all steps in the process – and plan them out.

One of the most critical ways thinking about time management has grown over the years – and helped optimize time for millions of people – is by learning how important it is to think about tasks and projects in terms of processes.

Let me illustrate this with the example of creating and selling an ebook. In the past I would stumble through the project in fits and starts, trying to get components done – and waiting until one is completed before beginning another.

4 Time Management Strategies That Actually Work

Time Management - Jul 18,2015 - No Comment

Easy, Powerful Principles To Boost Effectiveness For Students & Working People – Instantly

Time management strategies are necessary to improve your effectiveness at study or work. By learning how to implement a 4-part strategy to managing your time, you will miraculously find 3 extra hours or more in your over-crowded day, and stay on top of your work-load almost effortlessly. Better still, you will take the stress-free route to achieving all your goals and targets.

The most complicated time management strategies begin with these simple steps.

1. Create Your Schedule

Depending upon your nature of work and your unique time management needs, your schedule may be for a semester (if you’re a college student), or a year (if you’re setting targets for a financial/budget year), or a decade (if you’re planning a personal time management system).