ABSTRACT
A recent quick and crude search of a large Internet bookstore on the subject ‘Time Management’ instantly revealed a staggering ten thousand suggestions for further reading. Most of the titles promise that they will reveal the real secrets of how to get through work efficiently, quickly and painlessly in order to leave more time free for personal enjoyment and refreshment. If only it were so easy! However, we should not be too quick to dismiss such advice. First, the proliferation of titles on the subject suggests that it sells well. This in turn suggests that many of us feel that we could improve the way we manage our time, and therefore our work. We all have a fixed and limited time at our disposal; no matter how hard we try we cannot manufacture more of it, that is why it is such a precious commodity. So time management is really about making the best possible use of the time that is available to us, and not wasting it. If you have no problem organising your time and completing given tasks according to an agreed deadline, then maybe you do not need this chapter, or at least a quick skim will suffice. There is, however, a further question that perhaps we need to ask ourselves when considering the subject of time management. This question is about stress. On a personal note, I can confess that although I am relatively efficient, and do not generally miss deadlines or appointments or omit to do important things, this is often at the cost of a great deal of stress. I may wake up in the night and worry about a task I have not started or am in danger of omitting or forgetting. I may worry, and often do, that I will not be able to complete everything I have to do in the time that is available to me. Consequently I sometimes feel that I could have completed a task more efficiently, thoroughly and enjoyably than I actually did. Stress can be a positive driving force, providing us with just the right amount of personal adrenalin to energise us into completing tasks. On the other hand, stress can also
3 4 5EE 6 7 8 9 10 11 12111 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38
responsible.
