When you get an opportunity, one of the most important questions to ask is, what are your choices? If you say yes. Or if you say no, you still have choices. And when most important considerations when deciding which choice to adopt, is the timing. Now, it's worth saying a little bit about time management because although time management isn't the subject of this program, it's clearly a very related topic. So what I'm going to say might shock you, time management is impossible.

You can't manage time. In fact, scientists will tell us that we don't know what time is. Anyway, it is worth knowing that there are two fundamental types of activity and the first are known as time critical activities. Time critical activities are those for which there is a deadline looming, they have to be done at a specific time in order to get it done properly, if you don't do them within that specific time, then it's not worth doing at all. The other sorts of activities are far more appealing, they are known as time charmed activities. I call them time charmed activities, because you have choice.

You can do them when you choose, which gives them a real charm. So the distinction between time critical and time charmed will give us our first set of choices. Later on in this lecture, I'll also introduce you to a third type of activity. These are time expired activities. Time critical activities dictate When they need to get done, if you don't do them at the right time, all these last interruptions are time critical, because you have to deal with them when they occur, and other activities become time critical. Once you start them, you have to get them finished.

So one of the choices that we have with time critical activities. Well, choice number one is to say no, don't do it. Because your timing dictates that other things are more important to you to do by the deadline, then the opportunity that you've got now or the request has been made. The second choice is to take it on, but to do it to a minimum standard, or to do only a part of it. So choice number two is cut it down to size. choice number three Ways to say no.

By saying yes, accept the task, but then give it away and ask someone else to do it. Someone who is better able to do it. Someone who has more time, someone who can learn from the process of doing it, someone who enjoy doing it. It's kind of delegation is particularly important in an organizational context where we try to develop people and use our time effectively. And choice number four, of course, is to say yes, and to get on with it. Time charmed activities give us more options still, they're wonderful, because we can choose when to do it, which means we can choose to do it when it suits us when it effective and weight efficient.

Sometimes, by making a suitable choice about when to do something, we can not only act more efficiently, but we can save ourselves money or other resources. So with time shark activities, it's a mistake to automatically default to doing it now. choice number five, therefore, is to schedule the time charmed activity and do it at a time that suits you. Sometimes, you'll choose to do it at a time where you have more time available for you to concentrate. Sometimes, your group tasks together when you need a common set of resources. For example, I'm preparing all of these video lectures.

What I'll do is get the setup and the microphone ready and then record a number of lectures one after another. By bunching activities, I can be much more effective. Now's the time to introduce you to a third type of activity, time expired activities. time expired activities are activities for which It no longer makes sense. Because the time has passed an invitation to an event. For example, the event happened yesterday.

You don't have to consider whether or not that's the event for you, you can just put it straight in the bin emails for backup backlogs in our inbox. And sometimes that creates a set of time expired activities. So choice number six is just a dipshit now, and don't do it, take a look at that activity and make a quick decision that there is no benefit from acting. Now, this leads us to a very powerful strategy, which I could call purposive, procrastination. purposive. Procrastination gives us choice number seven, to put something off until the problem goes away.

Because with purpose of procrastination We put something off because there will be a better time to tackle it. Or if we put it off, we might never need to tackle it. There are efficiencies with grouping things together. As I talked about with choice number five. Purpose of procrastination covers that, but it also covers putting things off so that you may no longer need to do it. So there we have it.

Choice number seven, put it off until the problem goes away. I'm going to contrast now perceived with purposeful procrastination, purposeful procrastination is putting something off so that you can do something else instead. Because sometimes, you just get in the mood for doing something particular. And as long as that's something particular is not a displacement directed activity, but it is worthwhile in itself, then seize the moment. choice number eight is to put some Something off to make space for something else. An activity that is more opportune more pressing more critical.

Or perhaps you've just had that moment of inspiration that grabs you and says Now is the time. So what choices you have when it comes to doing something? We talked about eight choices. Let's just briefly recap what those choices were. If it's a time critical activity, you could say no, you could cut it down and reduce the activity. Or you could accept it and then ask someone else to do it.

Or Finally, you could simply say yes. If it's a time charms activity, then you can accept it and then schedule it to a time that suits you. If it's a time expired activity, then you can ditch it. And you can use purpose it procrastination as a means of putting something off long enough so that it will become a time expired activity. And finally, there's purposeful procrastination, seizing the opportunity to do something else. Because now is the time to do that something else.

Eight choices, eight choices that give you control over your yes