Last Minute Stress ?

The other day I was in traffic near a signal, I could not help but notice, how everyone at the signal were just getting ready as though it's a race start just waiting for the gun shot to go in the air. I wondered, what they would do with the time saved (probably few minutes in this case) once they reach the destination. :-) . However it also occurred to me probably they were hurrying as they are already late to the office. Though I do not have any statistical evidence, my gut feel says probably more than 90% of us does things in the last minute. It could be reaching office, submiiting Income Tax returns, giving car for service, any thing.

Doing things in the last minute not only causes lot of stress to ourselves but also to people around us. Other than that one may face the crowd whenever one does things last minute. It could be long queues, long waiting times. One may end up shouting or getting angry at others, just because one is stressed about completing your task in last minute. I am sure one can think of lot of examples, if only one can pause and think for a second.

Now, one can feel happy that we have company, or chose to be different by organizing and planning for one self just a little. How can one organize better? It's been my observation that great gadgets does not necessarily make one a great organizer. Nowadays there are lot of features in the gadgets that could be used to organize our lives, both personal and proffessional. However it is more of a discipline and in one's nature to organize oneself. I have a friend who does not know how to operate a computer, but she is a great organizer. She just uses her single diary so efficiently to block her time, mark her calender and organize herself.

Who is a good organizer? I think, probably some one who could manage their time well, and do not feel at the end of the day that they left something just because they are acting on others whims and fancies all the time that somewhere they could not act on what was important and urgent to them. (can be applied to Life as well). This is a skill, that can be cultivated and improved if one is not endowed with it. Ofcousre only if one wishes to organize one self, that is.

There are lot of tools available for organizing on the net. However, one of the simple tools I like is having a list of items and prioritizing them. Urgent/ Important quadrant also is simple enough and serves a purpose. In case you have not seen it before, here is a link: http://www.orgcoach.net/timematrix.html

If one observes the pattern and breaks free from it, it's a liberating feeling.