It's About Time

“Effective executives do not start with their tasks. They start with their time.” ~ Peter Drucker

Every couple years it seems there is a big stink made by politicans regarding the “irresponsibility of Hollywood” with regards to television content and its impact on America's youth. Conservatives blast Hollywood for all the sexual innuendo and anti-family messages woven into a majority of the shows. Liberals abhor the violence. (Forgive me this oversimplification.)

The issue isn’t WHAT kids are watching. The problem is THAT kids are watching. I mean, there is so much more to do, so many tens of thousands of ways to use one's time, to express oneself, to help others, to learn more about one's world. Why waste a child’s childhood by turning them into mindless vegetating couch potatoes?

Napoleon Bonaparte, perhaps the most brilliant general in history (and most written about human being of the 19th century) considered time to be the most valuable resource on earth. Napoleon’s writings and sayings are peppered with comments about the importance of time. “I may lose a battle,” Napoleon said, “but I shall never lose a minute.” Strategy, he believed,was the art of making use of space and time. “Space we can recover, but time never,” he asserted.

Notable management consultant Peter Drucker devotes a whole chapter to the matter of time in his timeless bestseller The Effective Executive. Writes Drucker, “Time is a unique resource. ...The supply of time is totally inelastic. No matter how high the demand, the supply will not go up. Moreover, time is totally perishable and cannot be stored. Yesterday’s time is gone forever and will never come back. Time is, therefore, always in exceedingly short supply.” (Sounds to me like Drucker was reading Napoleon.)

Because lost time can never be recovered, in order to be effective it is a prerequisite for business managers to learn how to manage their time. Likewise, as teachers, parents, and managers of households, we need to find ways to get a handle on the use of our time. Television is only one of the great time robbers. There are many other kinds of activities that conspire to steal our time as well. If you're feeling hopeless about the prospects of getting a handle on your time, know this: Time use does improve with practice. But, as Drucker quickly reminds us, “Only constant efforts at managing time can prevent us from drifting.”