Time Mismanagement

I’m on my way to Laguna to conduct/facilitate a three-day “Time Management” seminar. What I have is a slew of theories. Lately I have been having time management problems myself and the theories I have banked in my head for years are sometimes unworkable.


JR tried to simplify the root cause of my problem: “Mom, a large part of Time Management is saying no to some of the things you do.”

I have doubts if he is right.

All my activities and deadlines are calendared. But along the way, the unforeseen happens.

An activity is moved earlier and it overlaps with another event. Then deadlines become shorter. An event is postponed, and again, it overlaps with another event. It will take extraterrestrial travel to attend both.

Suddenly, too, a close friend gets very sick. Everything takes a backseat. I feel presence and relationships are far more important than non-life threatening activities.

How does one manage time? Theories can only go so far. But grace allows you to get it done right, in the proper order of priority.

Here’s the core of the seminar: which comes first, the “urgent” or the “important”?

I am looking forward to learning from my “class”—all 27 of them (third year university students).