Mary’s Time Management Secrets: Understanding Time from an Eternal Perspective

Weather! Time is the most important resource we have, finite and irreplaceable; and yet it is the most wasted resource for most of us. Given the proper amount of reflection, I don’t think any of us would question the validity of that statement. Significantly, there is an entire industry based on and around the topic, realizing that for many of us, we are unable to manage our time effectively. All you have to do is Google the key phrase “time management” and you have all the evidence you need. As of June 22, 2009 at 8:30 AM EST, there were 205 million results on the Google search engine recognition page or SERP for that keyword; and the sponsored links sections are completely full, which means that it is a very popular and even lucrative keyword phrase. For the same keyword phrase, “time management”, Youtube offers 23,300 results and yahoo! an incredible 1,580,000,000 results! Clearly, time is a much studied and highly valued resource that few of us know how to use effectively. During a recent visit to the hospital, I had the opportunity to speak with someone with an eternal perspective on time, both literally and figuratively. Their ideas are shared below. But first, let’s talk a bit about the term and what it means.
How to manage time? I listened to an interesting CD, one that I received as part of my gold membership in the Kennedy-Glazer Circle of InitiatesBill Glazer was interviewing Dan Kennedy, a true marketing genius and a person who seems to have down to a science of time management. While I am not going to discuss, at least in specific terms, the material covered by Dan Kennedy, it did inspire me to write this article, that article, and the conversation mentioned above. dan kennedy is true gurupure “Old School” and one of a dying breed of businessmen and businesswomen who optimize, pardon the gibberish term, see a great article by David Meerman Scott, each and every moment of the day, maximizing time like it’s a blanket from what tall. In a manner of speaking, I guess it is!
Time management, as defined by Wikipedia“refers to a variety of skills, tools, and techniques used to manage time when performing specific tasks, projects, and goals… Initially, time management referred only to business or work activities, but eventually the term was broadened to also include personal activities.”Interesting!
I would suggest that time management is, in fact, much more than a system of “monitoring, organizing, scheduling, and prioritizing” tasks; it is a life skill, determining our overall effectiveness in virtually every aspect of our lives. When most people talk about time, they usually do so in terms of setting priorities, integrating various methods or techniques into their daily lives. From my perspective, I think this approach falls way short of the mark. However, it is true that without a clear plan of action, which means integrating various techniques and methods into our daily lives, we cannot hope to put this valuable resource to its best use. The last statement may seem like a bit of a paradox, at least a puzzle. However, without a clear understanding of the resource, how can we expect management it’s? The cart, in this case time, must pass before the horse, direction.
How do we see the resource, as a resource, without contemplating its management? In fact, this is a philosophical question, which concerns the very nature of how we value our lives, how we quantify our lives in terms of seconds, minutes, hours, days, years, decades, tens, and centuries. While very few of us make it to the century mark, it’s interesting how those who do seem to have incredible perspective, particularly when it comes to the nature and value of each and every moment we spend in life. Earth. In a very real sense, they take the long view… pun intended.
I had the pleasure of speaking with an incredible young man wife last week. I was in the hospital for tests and was lucky enough to sit next to a 104-year-old woman. For the purposes of this article, I will call her Maria. I say young man woman, because in every sense of the word she is young, vital and refreshingly optimistic in her outlook on life. We were able to talk for almost an hour, both of us waiting for different doctors in the same waiting room.
Mary has seen it all! Experience World War I and World War II, the Roaring 20’s, the Great Depression, Pearl Harbor, the Civil Rights Movement of the mid-’60s, and a myriad of historical and life-changing moments and events. Despite these profound and life-altering events, Mary remains remarkably insulated from negative emotions. She told me that she looks forward to each and every day of her long and wonderful life.
I asked Mary what her secret is and she laughed. Mary told him secret it’s really not secret not at all, she told me that she values ​​each and every day as a gift from her Creator; and, in Mary’s world, that means God. this remarkable young man woman lives each day as if it were her last, she told me that she has always lived her life on that basis, every moment precious and in itself a gift to be savored, enjoyed and remembered forever as one she treasures. .in a life full of treasures. How amazing! It was as if Maria had been sent there that day just for me, a message that she needed to hear, take with me, remember and share.
So, back to the meaning of time and time management. To manage the resource, the abstraction we call time, we must understand its nature, its value, and, in Maria’s words, the gift. Before we can handle it, we must understand its nature, its value, its relationship and its importance in our lives. Once properly understood, we can appreciate its finite nature, managing it accordingly. The topic of time management, as noted above, has been done ad nauseam. What you don’t need is one more article telling you how to prioritize your day, how to set goals, how to implement the magic tools at your disposal, how to deal with all the bad habits you may have. All for $2995, and for today only, a unique offer no less! Speaking of perverting time!
Yes, we all procrastinate. I can even imagine Dan Kennedy procrastinating from time to time, though not like the rest of us of course! As stated earlier, there is an entire industry built around time, its management and procrastination mastery, at its disposal.
The real secret? Maria’s secret? The Secret of Mary can best be understood in terms of how we view time, how we understand it, and the importance we attach to it. Once we understand the nature of it, how vitally important it is to us, it can be easier to manage it effectively. I asked Mary why she thought most people have problems with time and time management. What Mary said almost knocked me out of my seat! Mary said the biggest problem is that time is free. She said, and I agree, that somehow the things we value most are the things we have to pay for. Unfortunately, Mary concluded, most of us see and understand pay in terms of dollars and cents; when in reality, we pay for time with our lives.
The centenarian, aged 104, had it stuck! Mary explained what she meant, pointing out that we are all given a certain amount of time, and her name is our life. He pointed out that we have no idea how much we have been given, we have no idea when the hourglass will run out; and, as a result, we tend to waste the resource, our Gift from God, the gift of time, until it’s too late. Mary smiled and said, “Then we wish we had him back.”
I thought about that for a moment and then asked Mary about something she had said earlier in our conversation about reaching the end of life and the perspective one gains. I heard something similar during a recording of Dr. Stephen R. Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, ironically only a day or two before, and I thought I’d take it. I asked him about what he said, and what I’ve often heard people say, including a section in Dr. Covey’s book, about people nearing the end of their lives who begin to think in terms of time spent, how they have invested it, analyzing if the time was well spent and if they would have or should have done things differently. Again Maria laughed, she laughed a lot; there was a joy that seemed to well up in her with every breath she took. Mary hesitated, nodded, and then said, and I’m paraphrasing, I wrote it down when I got to the car, not wanting to forget it.
Mary began, I have been on this Earth for over a century, I have seen some amazing things in my time, and as I told you before, I have always looked forward to every moment of each and every day. Have I had setbacks? Certainly, of course you do, young man! She called me that a lot, she made me feel like a kid at times during that hour too. She kept going, I learned from them, the mistakes and failures, the setbacks, and I kept going. I was looking forward to the next moment of my life. If I had spent my life looking back, wondering if I had done this and should have done that, I can assure you of one thing, I would never have made it to 80, let alone 104 years old! I look back on my life with joy and wonder, allowing regret or remorse to stain the memories I’ve collected over a century…and looking forward to the next. She laughed again! And, I never play all that silly “could, could, should” game!
Then the nurse called her name, they seemed to know each other, although Mary had that way of being, as if you had known her all your life… or all hers! We exchanged glances, she leaned in and kissed me on her check, ruby ​​red lipstick and all, and then she left for her date and walked out of my life.

Never look back, never second guess yourself and cherish every moment! I will always remember Mary, she is wise beyond the years, hers and mine combined, all of ours I imagine. My time with her was time well spent, the lesson of my life…104 years!