Managing Time - Chitra Jha

Great philosopher and educator J. Krishnamurti once remarked, “Time is the psychological enemy of man.” What it implies is that we psychologically undermine our true potential because we feel that we have no control over time. In the Hollywood blockbuster ‘Batman’, Jack Nicholson mouths this immortal phrase, “So much to do and so little time!” This phrase (in many variations) is the new anthem for most of us. We always feel as though the time is running out.

Is Time Subjective?
What is time? And why are we running a race against it - a race that we are in perpetual fear of losing? Is time an absolute, linear entity or is it subjective, depending on our perceptions? When we record our temperature, that one minute with the thermometer in your mouths seems like an eternity, but the same one-minute passes in a blink when we are with a loved one. We all experience the feeling of time dragging at one time and racing some other time. Does it mean that time expands and contracts, based on our subjectivity? Do we have personal control over our sense of time?

What do we mean when we say-

•  I don’t have any time.
•  Your time is up.
•  Time is running out.
•  How the time flies!
•  Sometimes time hangs heavy.
•  Sometimes time stands still.

Aren’t we personifying time? Aren’t we attaching subjective qualities to it? Yes, we are. Because deep inside us we know that time is an illusion. But what about time measured by a clock? The clock doesn’t lie about how much time has elapsed. Successful people make good use of understanding these conflicting aspects of time. They know that time is linear and subjective at the same time, and they exploit this duality to their advantage.

Fear of Time
Let us also try and understand this enigma called time. When we are bored, time hangs heavy. When we are desperate, time runs out. When we are exhilarated, time flies. When we are in love, time stands still. While we experience different rates of speed of time, the clock ticks regularly.

Spiritual Guru Dr. Deepak Chopra explains this phenomenon very well with the help of this example. Ask a skilful cook to make an omelette. He can cook up a delicious fluffy omelette in about two minutes. Now alter the situation slightly by telling him, “Make an omelette, but you only have two minutes to do it.” This will often make even the most accomplished cook feel tense and harried. Time pressure causes stress hormones to be released into his body, which in turn elevate heartbeat. Some people are much more sensitive to time pressure than others. A nervous cook can get so rattled by the two-minute deadline that he drops the eggs, burns himself and can’t accomplish a task at which he excels when time is not a consideration. Another cook will blossom under the challenge and finish the omelette even quicker than before. One person feels time pressure as a threat while another treats it as a challenge. One feels thrown out of control, the other feels impelled to test his sense of control and improve upon it.

The people who design the Management Aptitude Tests are aware of this reaction to time constraints. They design the test in such a way that only the toughest nerves can handle the pressure. The frustration of uncertainty compounds the effects of time pressure.

Time pressure alters behaviour, attitude and physiological response. It’s no co-incidence that the word ‘deadline’ contains the word ‘dead’. Those of you who are working in the corporate world know very well that a deadline implies a threat: “if you don’t meet this limit, you are dead.” The threat may be subtle or blatant, but it is almost always present. If it were not, we would not feel anxious under time pressure.

 So, what can we do differently to be able to ignore the ticking clock? How about - stop paying attention to it? Stop giving it undue attention and it will loosen its stranglehold over you. You must be appalled at my suggestion. How will you time your performance and analyse your speed / accuracy techniques? And horror of horrors, how will you manage to time yourself on that most important day - the 19th of November?

The fear of time gets compounded when there is fear of failure attached to it. Fear of failure emerges from lack of confidence. And as we all know, we feel under-confident when we have not prepared well. So don’t lay the blame on TIME, the real culprit is a lack of confidence in your preparation.

Controlling Time
Those of you who are self-confident need not fear time limits. All you need to do is, check the test paper. See how many sections there are. Divide the total time as per the number of sections. Carry a stopwatch with you.

 Set it up before each section and start writing the test with full concentration, without being distracted by time limits or any other time-wasting thoughts. Keep answering the questions that come easily to you and keep moving on. Concentrate on accuracy and stop thinking about the section you are attempting the moment your stopwatch tells you. Repeat the same procedure for the other sections. You will realise that you can attempt questions calmly and more accurately than you do under time pressure. If you don’t believe me, give it a try.

The trick lies in performing the task with full concentration, to the best of your abilities, without thinking of the deadline or the linear time. This trick will help you in preparing for CAT, but most importantly, it will help you while taking ‘THE CAT’.

You must remember that there is no tomorrow, it is always today.

All the best.