My Life On Microsoft Outlook

There are many things in life that is constant--the sun rises in the east and sets in the west; the northern star; love; growing old; the mockery of decaffeinated coffee. Time is also constant. There will always be twenty-four hours available to us in any given day. But, if everyone has the same allotment, why do I sometimes feel like I don't have time?

I've read many books and have attended numerous seminars on the concept of "time management." (Steven Covey's "First Things First" was among my favorite reads.) Over the past twenty years, I have used a variety of day planners and digital organizers in an attempt to manage time, but nothing seemed to have been fully effective. I'd even consulted with a "life coach" who taught me a system that allowed me to get closer at managing my time by using Microsoft Outlook religiously, scheduling everything from client meetings to phone calls to lunch breaks. It's made me quite anal-retentive that my co-workers have wondered if I even scheduled my trips to the bathroom (which may not be such a bad idea at all). Yet I still go back to the same lamentation time and time again: I don't have time!

Friends and relatives also seem to suffer from this affliction, especially those who are married and/or have kids. Suddenly, afterwork drinks, parties, and just plain get-togethers have become things of the past. Some even appear to have lost time for such things altogether. How does one lose time? And, why does it always seem to be easier to lose time than to find it?

The term "time management" is one of life's greatest misnomers. No one can ever truly manage time as if it were an employee to boss around. I cannot ask time to slow down nor can I ask for more than my daily allotment of hours. I cannot ask it to stop, either; time moves forward whether I'm ready to move with it or not.

What I've learned is that it boils down to managing "priorities." Everything one wants to accomplish in life has to do with the urgency and/or importance one places on them, prioritizing tasks that have a higher level of urgency and/or importance over those tasks that don't. If I mosey over to Starbucks instead of going for a morning run, would it, therefore, result in my not having time for exercise? No. If I watch endless hours of TV instead of picking up a paperback, does it give credence to my complaint of not having enough time to read? No, again. Whatever I end up accomplishing in any given day are results of conscious (as well as subconscious) decisions I make based on priorities. I cannot blame time or lack thereof.

I wish I'd learned this truth two decades ago, when I began my adventures in time management, so that I would hopefully not be as Microsoft Outlook-dependent as I am these days. However, perhaps software such as Outlook will only get more effective and efficient in the future, and bring us closer to the perception of true time and priority management. But, as with all things, only time will tell.