1.5. Lesson 3 - Whole-in-One

I believe, as a community, we have fallen into the trap of seeing our life in segments -- like there are separate versions of ourselves operating in different lives.

The third 21st Century Time Management principle is about seeing your whole life as one-life (that’s why I spelt it whole-in-one). Most people separate work life and personal life. Life away from work can be split further depending on what you are involved in.

The problem that this causes is that you lose track of how your different lives or roles interconnect, especially in terms of spending time. Your life is ONE LIFE. And you have a limited amount of time to fit everything in to that life.

Your use of time will be more effective for you if you can SEE your life as ONE WHOLE.

I believe you need to have a visual representation of how you will use your time for ALL roles you play. This ensures that your roles are balanced and you are very clear about the time you will spend in each role each week.

How many diaries do you have? Often these days people have 4 or 5 diaries or different types. From your work computer to your phone to a family calendar.

How well do you think you can manage your time if your time allocation is in many different places.

Imagine your car had 5 different gas tanks. Your engine takes gas from different tanks depending on how you are driving. Each week you get 60 litres maximum. You do NOT have a fuel gauge. If any tank is empty when the engine needs it, the car stops.

How will you decide which tank to put the gas in?

This analogy is how many people manage their time. Separating their time into different tanks without knowing the fuel levels, the fuel required or when they will use each tank.

So don’t handle your time that way. Look at your time like it is one full tank. Think about use of your time like a long drive (how much fuel will I need to get there) and use a fuel gauge.

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There are several aspects to help you see your life as one life. They are: Use a structure
Know your capacity
Create one time management system
Define and Balance your roles