The science of etiquette is an art that enters all areas of our lives, and the goal behind it is to reach human and civilized sophistication.
There is no doubt that time is a fundamental factor in the advancement and progress of civilizations or their delay and collapse, if individuals do not deal well with it, benefit from it and employ it in the required manner.
In these lines, I will review with you how to best deal with time in different situations and the most important literature and rules followed in that:
Wealth
Imagine that an amount of 86 thousand and 400 dollars is deposited in your bank account every day, but you are surprised that this amount is canceled and the remainder of it is withdrawn at the end of the day because you were unable to use it during the day.
So what do you do in this situation?
You will certainly try to withdraw every cent and invest it in what is good and beneficial for you.
This is indeed what happens with us daily. Every morning, 86 thousand and 400 seconds are credited to our account, which is equivalent to 24 hours, and in the evening the rest of them are withdrawn, and nothing remains in your account, so how do you think those seconds were exploited?
Likewise, we will be asked about those seconds and this time in anything we wasted, as the Holy Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, said: “The feet of a believing servant do not move until he is asked about four things: about his life and how he spent it, about his youth and how he wore it out, and about his wealth, from where he acquired it and how he spent it.” And about his knowledge of what he did with it.” Here are only two of the four questions about time, wealth, and the large capital that every person possesses.
Give everyone his right
When we talk about the etiquette of dealing with time, the first thing we must think about is how we distribute our time. Time is life, and as I indicated, it is the capital of a slave, it is those breaths that he possesses.
In order to deal well with time, it is necessary to manage it well, i.e. good management of ourselves, in the sense that we must divide and diversify the activities and work that we do. There is a famous phrase that is always used by many, which is “I do not have time.” Is this phrase true? Or in other words, is it correct? I believe that time may accommodate everything if we manage it well, i.e. we can tame it and control it instead of it controlling us.
In order for this thing to be done, we must divide our times into 4 times:
First: a time to sleep, rest and recuperate.
Second: a time for seriousness, work and production.
Third: Personal time for worship, development and self-development.
Fourth: time for family, family and social relationships.
Set your priorities and plan well
In order to better deal with all these times in a balanced way, daily planning is advised, and this begins with making a list of tasks that must be accomplished in the day and is called the “daily task list” in which you write all your activities and divide your time on those activities according to importance and allocate a specific time for each task to complete it, and be sure to To always have that list on hand.
You must identify and avoid or reduce your time wasters, also consider what can save you time, such as using some modern technologies, for example, from devices and so on, or delegating some work and so on.
a base
There is a beautiful rule known as the homogeneous sequence rule that says: Every intermittent work is less effective and takes longer than continuous work, so try if you start a task to complete it and make the work connected so that it does not take you longer, especially if there are many interruptions during carry out.
Dealing with delays
Respecting time and adhering to deadlines is a culture that we need, but what are the arts of dealing and tact if it happens that we are forced to be late for any social or medical appointments, for example?
If the delay is for a doctor or clinic appointment, for example, you must send a letter of apology or make a call to apologize for the delay, and if the delay is more than 15 minutes, you can ask if it is possible to schedule another appointment.
In the event that you are forced to be late for work meetings or social visits, you must also make contact to provide an excuse for the reason for the delay and apologize for that.
To avoid the phenomenon of delay, try to go out well in advance of the time to avoid any surprises that may occur, in order to ensure arrival on time, and if you wake up late in the morning, some morning routines can be dispensed with, such as drinking morning coffee, for example, or browsing some social media in order to avoid further delay. And you can arrive on time.
Respecting time indicates a high level of manners, etiquette and taste, and it is a strong indicator of the supremacy of human relations. It is also a means of evaluating people and recognizing their worth and status.
Benefits and fruits
When you improve dealing well with time and improve its use and benefit from it, you will feel better in general in life, you will control your day and you will be able to achieve achievements, goals and desires.
There is no doubt that you will also be able to complete your work faster and with less effort, and this will give you the enthusiasm and energy to use every second and minute more effectively.
And always ask yourself: What is the best way to use my time right now?
Nermin Al Abiad
Consultant and trainer of etiquette and educational skills