Introduction
It is very important to manage time effectively in order to succeed in whatever we do. This paper describes in detail about the four ‘main roles’ that I had shortlisted from my “Who Am I” exercise. The roles that I have selected define what I stand for and what I intend to become. The roles that I indentified were: 1. being a Man 2. A fighter. 3. Student of life. 4. Manager 5. Miscellaneous. I then defined 3 ‘Big rocks’ that were the major consumers of my time and items that must be completed to succeed in the above mentioned roles. I also selected 5 ‘Little rocks’ that needed to be somewhat addressed for the particular role. The selected roles were then tabulated with respect to the rocks and analysis was made for 4 consecutive days.
The assumptions that I made for the exercise were: 1. I assumed that I was working as a manager in an Oil and gas company, I evaluated my work performance based on the current work performance at school and with reference to my relationship with school friends, juniors and supervisors. 2. I assumed that I am married and have kids. These assumptions, at the end of my exercise, did not change, but it changed my perspective towards some of the roles that I had shortlisted. Also, my observations are based on the overall picture of four days. There were some rocks that went well initially, but faltered on the way and vice versa.
“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin”. – Mother Teresa.
What went right?
In the course of 4 days following activities went well (considering the overall picture):
- Learning from experience: This was a big rock under the ‘student of life’ role. It was needed to learn from my past mistakes, successes and gain positive experience in life.
- Keeping Faith in me: This was a little rock under the ‘student of life’ role. To have faith in one’s own abilities is very important. Because, if a person does not have faith in himself, he cannot have faith in others.
- Introspection: A little rock that was included in my miscellaneous items, this was required to analyse past events and make necessary judgements and future decisions.
- Setting Benchmarks: Again a little rock in the miscellaneous items, this was the next step after introspection and it was needed to set my goals and what I intended to achieve in coming days.
- Responsibilities: This was a big rock in my role as a ‘Manager’. To succeed in the four selected roles, it was necessary for me to become responsible towards by duties as a supervisor, a husband and a friend.
- Work: This was the most important rock under the manager role. It was necessary that I had to excel at my workplace by working in an effective and honest way.
- Consistency: A big rock under the role of ‘A man’, I believe that consistency is important to achieve one’s goals and benchmarks. I had to remain consistent in order to succeed in my roles.
- Road Blocks: A big rock under the role of a ‘Fighter’, it was important for me to identify and eliminate the road blocks that came in my way.
- Faith: A little rock under ‘A man’, it was important that I restored my faith in myself and my supporters.
- Consistency: A little rock under ‘fighter’, a consistent effort from my part was required to achieve my goals and vision.
- Love: This was a little rock under ‘A man’. Love is one of the most powerful feelings in this world, and I love my family, wife, kids and friends.
- Empathy: It is important for me to empathise with my colleagues, family and friends in order to succeed in my selected roles.
- Future Planning: A big rock under miscellaneous items, nobody knows what is in store for future. But, we can at least plan our actions for a better future!
- Observations: A little rock under the role ‘Student of Life’, observations are necessary to analyse what assumptions were right and which ones were wrong.
Considering the overall picture, the activities that went wrong were:
- Enthusiasm: A little rock under the role of fighter, I found that I was lacking in enthusiasm that was needed to forge ahead and achieve the targets.
- Belief: Although I has faith in my abilities, I could not say for sure that I truly believed that I could effectively handle all the selected roles.
- Delegation, overcoming hurdles, conflict resolution and roadblocks: These rocks were primarily related to my work place. I found out that I had difficulties assigning responsibilities to my juniors and had difficulty in overcoming work related conflicts.
- Recuperating and overcoming frustration: To my surprise, I realised that it was pretty difficult to come out of a difficult situation and overcome frustration.
- Time Constraints: A rock under the role of a fighter, I faced difficulty in managing my time. It was a challenge to finish one job at a time and then start all over again. It was difficult.
What rocks were mislabelled?
According to me, ‘Enthusiasm’ should have been replaced with ‘Optimism’. It was a rock under the role of a Fighter. Although it is important to remain enthusiastic about life, it is more important for a person to be optimistic about his future. There will be setbacks, and it can affect the morale of a person, but he/she must be optimistic that things will improve for the better. Also, ‘delegation’ must be replaced with ‘mentoring’ as it is important to act as a mentor to your juniors at workplace. In this way, I can effectively guide my juniors during any crisis situation at workplace, and it will also reduce the chances of conflicts and difficulties at workplace.
Conclusion and some insights on selected roles
Based on the 4 day analysis, I found out a lot about my important roles. Through the activities, I realised that I was comfortable in some roles while I had difficulties in managing some. The role of being a ‘Manager’ is ill-defined in my life, as I had several issues in managing its activities (as mentioned above). Also, the role of a ‘fighter’ is under scrutiny as I have to develop several traits pertaining to that role.
This exercise has been an eye opener for me, and I am ready to make necessary changes to succeed in life!
References
Lewis, V. (2013), Time management assignment for Professional Development 3100, The University of Texas at Dallas
Richard. (2008) What Colour is Your Parachute?
Who Am I? (2014) A perspective for my career and happiness
Goal Statement (2014)
