Though his name rarely enters into
discussions on the art of time management,
Martin Luther King, Jr. was like Pablo Picasso
to the craft.We often forget that the ultimate
aim of time management is to improve
one’s capacity to accomplish what one aims
to accomplish. It’s not about meticulously
maintaining lists.
It’s not about perfectly organizing
documents. It’s not about efficiently
plugging away at important tasks every
second of the day. Time management is
about setting your sights on what you
want, and following through until either
you achieve what you set out to achieve or
decide it’s no longer worthwhile. At this, Dr.
King was unmatched. Putting aside the smaller projects, such as
buying toilet paper, which I’m sure you
manage just fine, I’ve distilled the essential
ideas from the life works of Martin Luther
King, Jr. and Brian Little to come up with the
following three tips you can apply when
deciding on your biggest undertakings:
Tip #1: Freely choose your goals. Be honest
with yourself about what you want and
why you want it. If you are doing
something out of pride, guilt, or jealousy,
you’ll probably give it up eventually. The
same is true for things you do purely for
monetary reward. You’ll probably lose
interest over time. On the other hand, if you
are doing something because it’s what you
want all the way down to the core of your
being, you’ll stick with it.
Tip #2: Set unselfish goals. Aim for things
that are beneficial to those around you, and
not just yourself. None of us exists in a
vacuum, and we are at our best when we
work for the good of the community. If
your goals are consistent with your
fundamental need to belong and to identify
with a group, you’ll remain motivated until
you finish what you start.
Tip #3: Set goals that are challenging, yet
achievable. Going for things that are too
easy won’t keep you motivated; and
shooting for things beyond your reach will
only result in frustration. Either of these two
approaches will eat away at your feeling of
competence, a feeling most psychologists
agree is a basic ingredient for happiness.
The best way to grow a sense of
competence is to set progressively more
challenging goals, building on your know-
how as you achieve each one in succession.