Time Management - Marc Mancini
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
24<br />
<strong>Time</strong> <strong>Management</strong><br />
least—of your own area of responsibility.<br />
Myth 4: One Style Fits All<br />
This book’s preface emphasized a crucial point: we are all different.<br />
Your goal should be to arrive at a time management<br />
style that suits you. Some strategies apply to most people in<br />
most situations (like setting priorities, planning ahead, delegating),<br />
but others require an angle that’s tailored to the personal<br />
style of the individual. Unfortunately, most time management<br />
books and systems seem oblivious to this. They assume that<br />
one style fits all.<br />
Experience teaches us that this is far from being true. For<br />
example, given the option, you may like to work completely<br />
through one project and complete it before moving on to the<br />
next: you work in linear fashion. Or you may be holistic in your<br />
approach: you enjoy juggling multiple tasks at the same time—<br />
like those plate spinners who somehow manage to keep seven<br />
or eight disks spinning simultaneously on top of tall poles.<br />
You may also be a “sprinter”: you work in great, short bursts<br />
of energy and need to recharge your batteries with moments of<br />
low activity or rest. On the other hand, you may be a crosscountry<br />
type: you burn less brightly—but more evenly—<br />
throughout the day. (More about this in Chapter 5.)<br />
The bottom line: you should feel comfortable about tailoring<br />
your time management style to your psychological and physiological<br />
makeup. Of course, this isn’t always possible. But the<br />
simple recognition of your individuality—and the knowledge<br />
that time management principles aren’t always carved in<br />
stone—can smooth your transition to more efficient, productive,<br />
and stress-free performance.<br />
<strong>Time</strong> <strong>Management</strong> and Culture<br />
The “Western Way” is hardly the only way to deal with time. Yet,<br />
virtually every time management book, by omitting cultural factors,<br />
seems to imply that there’s one, almost saintly way of<br />
doing things. This omission seems nearsighted, considering the