Master time instead of letting it master you

What is the difference between effective time management and wasting time ?

Plan what you need to do - that is the easy part.

Work out what needs to be done to make that plan work.

Have a genuine desire to achieve your goals, then work every day to complete them.

Write out a schedule.

Practice.

Be determined.

Get yourself in the habit.

Distractions will come, but work hard to stay on track.

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Would you rather speak to a complainer or a whiner?

Personally, I am not sure which I prefer since both drain my energy.

I am sure you know some people who fall into the category of whiners and complainers. They complain about everything. They can’t find anything good about anything.

When they begin to talk, you try to hold onto your sense of compassion and empathy, but you slowly lose it.

One of my relatives is like this—complain, whine, and complain. When she talks, I think of a placard I have in my office that reads, “Now that’s ten minutes of my life I will never get back again.”

These people are “Time Vampires” — they suck the time from you.

So what do you do about these Time Vampires?

You may have thought that driving a wooden stake through the heart would be a good way to deal with the vampire, but you probably couldn’t get away with that. And you can’t walk
around wearing a garlic necklace (even if you swear you’ll never go out again and you’ll only socialize through Twitter and Facebook, eventually you’ll have to leave your house and you’ll stink to high heaven).

So you have to try a more socially acceptable approach. To manage the Time Vampire, limit your contact with him/her. Minimize all forms of communication—phone, texting, e-mailing
and socializing. Set some boundaries when you converse with him/her. Ask questions to keep the time vampire on track.

If you are speaking to a complainer/whiner at a social gathering, get other people involved so you can slowly withdraw from the conversation. Some of you may think this is harsh, but it isn’t if you want to maintain your sanity.

For those of you who want to help and make a difference in the life of a complainer/whiner (this is the category I fall into), ask if the complaints are about things or people that they can
change. Often the complaining and whining concern things over which they have no control. If this is the case, encourage acceptance of the situation as it is.

Ask the complainer/whiner to list five things they are happy about, five things they are grateful to have in their life, or even five people they enjoy in their life. Stay focused on
things they enjoy. You may not be able to change them from complainers to non-complainers, but at least you can begin to have a decent conversation.

(Dr. Michael Kaye)

“If you have time to whine and complain about something then you have the time to do something about it.” ~Anthony J. D'Angelo