Читать книгу Time Management Ninja - Craig Jarrow - Страница 6

Introduction

“I don’t have enough time.”

“I am so tired from trying to catch up, I’ll never get ahead.”

“I don’t get to the important things in my life because I am too busy.”

Sound familiar? No, it’s not telepathy. As a time management ninja, I’ve heard this all before. But your fears are going to be conquered! Your training begins now.

These days, our lives appear to be endless marathons of busyness. It feels like there is never enough time to get to what’s important, which means we have even less time to do what we actually enjoy!

On top of that, you probably spend more time scrolling through dozens of perfect #beachday posts or “chilling with your phone” than getting work done with it. And even when you do finally try to get work done, it interrupts you many times an hour. (Or minute!) It’s sneaky1 when it does it, too, so when you innocently open up your screen time report, you’re taken aback. Yes, you actually did spend five hours on Facebook. What?!

But you know this already. More than likely, you have already tried to better manage your time. You’ve scoured the app store, bookstore, and online for any semblance of hope, but instead found that most time management systems are way too complicated or simply don’t fit in with your routine and workload. So, you stopped using them almost as quickly as you picked them up. Delete, and then move on. It’s a vicious cycle. Meanwhile, your time is ticking away.

If you are tired of always rushing, letting technology dominate your time, and procrastinating when you should be working…then this book is for you!

The Time Crisis

You are not alone in feeling that you don’t have enough time in your day.

Everyone is too busy. In fact, our society is busier than ever.

A recent study found that the average adult has just over four hours per week of free time. That is not much time at all to spend on personal tasks and goals. Yet, your whole life is made up of personal tasks and goals! Those are your dreams. How much time are you spending on them, on average? Four. Hours.

It’s a dreary reality. No, we can’t deny it—there is a growing time crisis. Quite frankly, the lack of time in people’s personal lives has become an epidemic. People have less time to themselves. That means less time to do what’s important, whether that is to work on life goals or spend precious time with family and loved ones.

Our modern daily lives consist of constant interruptions, notifications, and calls for our attention. We spend more of our days “plugged in” to streams of requests, information, and news than we do on the tasks that make us feel alive.

If you are like most, you spend your entire day reacting to the stimuli around you. And when you do finally reach the end of your day, it often seems like you have accomplished nothing of consequence. No kidding. You have spent the whole day reacting instead of acting.

It seems there is never any time to just think. Or to actually do what is important to you. Ultimately, it feels as though the world is in an ongoing battle for our attention. Our devices distract us dozens of times per hour, telling us about things that “just can’t wait.” Most people can’t go more than a minute or two without being interrupted.

If you doubt this, I dare you to try the following experiment. What is the experiment, you ask? Paying attention. Right, seems easy enough. Well, what if I told you that most people will not make it to the end before their attention wanders or they receive an interruption? Not fazed? Feeling testy? Try it. I dare you.

Take this seriously and concentrate.

Slowly and deliberately count to ten. Take a breath between each number. And do nothing else. You only have to reach ten.

How did it go? Most importantly, how far did you get before you got distracted? Before you remembered a task you urgently have to do? Someone you have to call? Felt the itch to be doing something?

Chances are, you didn’t make it.

Perhaps, your mind wandered to that task (really should get my dog washed before algae grows). Or your phone buzzed with a news notification (another escaped sea lion?). Or your email dinged to let you know of a new message (50% off all SALE items! Buy now! Please!).

Doesn’t matter what specifically distracted you…the fact that you were is the point. We live in a world of endless diversions that keep us from being productive.

It is truly a scary way to live. Yet…

Technology Was Supposed to Make Things Easier!

The searing irony of the time crisis is that we were supposed to have more time by now. The future was supposed to bring technology that would make our lives carefree and effortless. Technology was supposed to make us more productive. It was supposed to do the work for us. Gadgets, apps, robots, artificial intelligence…it was all intended to make our lives easier!

Instead, the very technology that was supposed to save us has taken over our lives. It acts as a leash on our work, pulling us back and stopping us in our tracks no matter where we are.

If you think we aren’t living in The Matrix, here’s the red pill—many people spend over ten hours per day using their technology. Picking up the phone is easy. Scrolling is second nature. Now try putting the technology down. What happens when you do? The glittery screen beeps, chimes, or vibrates begging you to come back. These artificial beings are controlling us, distracting us with this fabricated reality while they suck our life force. Too far?

Most can’t go more than a minute or two without a distraction. I bet that while you have been reading this introduction your phone has made a noise interrupting your attention.

Now, technology isn’t all bad. As any superhero movie will tell you—any powerful thing can be used for good or ridden to ruin.

Yes, we have harnessed the virtues of technology for quite a lot of good. Needless to say, it’s thanks to automation and electronics that we can do things that before were unthinkable. We can work from almost anywhere. We can communicate in ways never before imagined. And we have access to the entire world’s information in the palm of our hand. The devastating loss of knowledge, like in the burning of the library in Alexandria, is a concern of the past.

Of course, this open access is good. In moderation. Between social networks, endless news, and push notifications…our devices often take up more time than they give back.

I sometimes joke that many people have “affairs” with their phones.

Think about it. They spend more time with their phones than with their loved ones. They sleep with their phones. It is often the last thing they look at before they go to bed and the first thing they look at when they wake up. It’s time to tell your partner you “met someone.”

We are already living in The Matrix. The automatons provide us with a superficial, endless source of interruptions, notifications, and time-consuming information. Yes, they are slowly fabricating a new reality, and extracting our life-force while they’re at it. Only difference is, we’re sentient and we’re letting them.

Time Management Shouldn’t Be Difficult

Like I mentioned in the beginning, if you’re picking up this book it’s likely you have already tried to fight back against the endless bouts of procrastination and distractions. Yes, you have already tried to manage your time—or tried to use an app or system to do it for you.

However, the more you try, the more time you spend on gadgets and systems that end up taking more time than they give back. It’s a toxic relationship.

Likely, you’ve used apps that have such a steep learning curve or so many required actions that you became frustrated. Or techniques that are so complex that they require a flowchart. A flowchart!

You use them for a few days and then realize that they aren’t sustainable or realistic. They quickly end up in a drawer. Just like that, you’re back where you started. The only progress made? Finding out that none of them work for you. Why is managing your time so difficult?

But that’s a loaded question. The answer is…it shouldn’t be.

Time management should be effortless. Smooth. Ninja-like. It isn’t something that you “turn on” when you are behind on your work. It should be part of your life and as easy as your other daily habits, like brushing your teeth. That easy.

Your time-saving system should also be as simple as common sense. A streamlined approach will beat a complicated system every time. Get ready to master some defyingly simple time ninja moves.

And no, you won’t need a flowchart.

Reclaiming Your Time

It’s your time.

You don’t have to give it up and away. You don’t have to let others steal it. You’re in control.

It is time to do something about the time crisis and the technology takeover. It is time to better manage your life. Ninja kick your way through this.

This book will give you twenty-one simple tips to give you back time back in your life. Inevitably, you will experience less stress as you begin to unplug from the endless stream of distractions.

So, if you are ready to reclaim your time and life, then let’s get started!