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time management

Recognize the Reality

We face many tasks, from the small and insignificant (oiling that
squeaky hinge on the bathroom door) to the major and consequen-
tial (making an important presentation, finding a retirement home for
Dad). All of these tasks compete for our attention, and while some
may be more significant than others—the health and happiness of
Dad should take precedence over a noisy door, after all—they all are
part of the nagging “undones” that crowd our conscious and uncon-
scious minds. We can’t completely control how our minds work,
which accounts for random thoughts and unfortunate sequences, such
as remembering to put a stamp on an envelope after mailing it. It also
means that we are likely to be thinking about the upcoming presen-
tation during a golf game, and how to correct that nasty slice, in the
middle of a staff meeting. Thoughts of squeaky hinges and retirement
homes will seem to pop up at inappropriate times as well.

This great mass of random thoughts will keep churning; the pace
of life guarantees that more will crowd in before we can deal with the
ones already bumping into each other. What to do? Confront the real-
ity that we have many requirements on our time, interruptions are a
given, and, unless you’re living the rustic life of a reclusive shepherd,
that work, family, friends, and community will continue to demand
our attention in unplanned ways at inconvenient times. Your son will
fall during recess at school breaking his wrist, and will need to be
taken to the emergency room, now. Your boss will stop by your office
and ask you to research a contract and get back to her with the infor-
mation before lunch. A colleague will call you with “just a couple of
questions” and inevitably consume a half hour covering everything
from the project status to yesterday’s football game.

These are life’s side effects. We can’t control these events; we
only can control ourselves in how we react to them. It’s possible
to practice techniques to deal with and lessen the effects of inter-
ruptions: screening calls and removing the guest chair from your
office so visitors can’t sit down, for example. Some techniques
actually may be worth trying, particularly if you believe you suf-

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