In 1954, Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th President of United States and five-star general during World War II, delivered a phenomenal speech touching on how to be steadfast stewards of time. As a sage on stage, he went lyrical and quoted, “I have two kinds of problems, the urgent and the important. The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent.”
Therefore, Stephen Covey, in his heroic book titled The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, focused on Dwight D. Eisenhower’s wise words. Covey coined the words to the now-popular task management tool known as The Eisenhower Matrix, which is also known as The Time Management Matrix, The Eisenhower Box or The Urgent-Important Matrix. Students can rely on The Eisenhower Matrix, As a task management tool. Students can use it to organise and prioritise tasks based on urgency and importance. Using this tool, they can divide time into four boxes based on: One, tasks to do first. Two, tasks to schedule later. Three, tasks to delegate. And four, tasks to delete.
In addition, Wilfredo Pareto, the brilliant economist from Italy, came up with Pareto Principle or The 80/20 Rule. Pareto is one of the timeless tools used in time management. Pareto noted that people in the society seem to divide time naturally into what he christened as vital few. In his opinion, only 20% of people in an economy contributed to economic development and growth. 80% had no significant contribution. In its application, somehow, 20% of our activities account for 80% of your results. 20% of your friends account for 80% of the value you get from all your friends. Meaning, in case you have a list of 10 activities to do, 2 of the activities turn out to be worth your time more than the 8. Therefore, it is imperative to ask yourself, what is the top 20% of the activities or the bottom 80%? Most people obtain 80% of their actual results from 20% of their actual effort put in place.
Somehow, after looking at Gas Laws in Chemistry, students can coin this law: “Today, is directly proportional to tomorrow, God’s favour being a constant.” Sad indeed, bad news is that time flies. However, good news is that they are the pilots. They cannot kill time without injuring their future. Yesterday is a cancelled cheque. Tomorrow is a promissory note. Today is cash in hand. Then, time is so important to an extent that it determines the ultimate position, even direction and destiny. Time is the metre we use to measure relevance of our progress and success on this terra firma. Time is the currency of life. It is not possible to save time. Time wasted cannot be recovered. Time is a resource given to us by God Almighty. Wisdom and time are inseparable. Steadfast stewardship of time is tantamount to wisdom. Those who manage time are wise, while those who cannot manage it are otherwise. No wonder, the poet prays in Psalm 90:12: “Teach us to number our days right that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
Moreover, men and women who love winsome wisdom say this in relation to time: To know the value of one year, ask a student who has failed in a national exam like KCSE. To know the value of one month, ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby. To know the value of one week, ask an editor who works on a weekly newspaper. To know the value of one day, ask a daily casual labourer who has ten mouths to feed. To know the value of one hour, ask a lad and lass, madly in love, eager to meet and interact. To know the value of one minute, ask a person who has just missed a flight. To know the value of a second, ask a person who has just witnessed an accident episode. To know the value of a millisecond, ask an elite athlete poised to bag a gold medal.
Delving deeper, we have predictable, discretionary and imposed time. Predictable time is the duration already committed to activities such as classes, discussions, games, or entertainment. Discretionary time is the amount of time available, and not already committed to some activities. Imposed time is unpredictable. Activities including: Emergencies, home chores, or school-related assignments, people dropping by to visit, getting stuck in traffic, extended meetings, emerging deadlines, unplanned surfing on internet and telling unplanned stories with friends.
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Actually, through steadfast stewardship of time, it is easier to accomplish tasks. Therefore, being a steadfast steward of time is the real deal. Wise use of time makes life worth living. Sometimes, the difference among students in terms of health, wealth, performance, excellence and peace: Can be attributed to how they spend time in and out of school. Some students commit their time to meaningful activities, while others focus on activities that affect their rise to the acme of the game of life. Time influences our well-being and wellness. A feeling of being ‘out of control’ of time is a source of stress-related issues.
Largely, steadfast stewardship of time leans on the ravenous desire to control it, choosing to be decisive, being determined and embracing different forms of discipline. Stewardship of time begins with the skill of self-management, which abuts on self-discipline. It behooves students to set their priorities right. There is the urgent need of an all-inclusive timetable or study schedule and having what-to-do-list or task list on daily basis.
Finally, when schools are closed, and students are holed up at home, they must arrest thieves of time such as complacency, procrastination, laziness, lassitude, a lot of sleep, disorganisation, misuse of media and walking with wayward friends. This takes us back to the nuts and bolt of Eisenhower’s Matrix four boxes: One, tasks to do first. Two, tasks to schedule later. Three, tasks to delegate. And four, tasks to delete.
By Victor Ochieng’
The writer rolls out talks and training services.
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