As a business school student, time management suddenly has become a very important part of my life. In a previous post I highlighted some of the practical tools and functional steps I take to keep my life in check. Today I take a look at the theoretical importance of time management.
At Boston College I learned the basics of economics from Professor Richard Tresch. In his introductory course, Professor Tresch explained economics as “the study of how to best allocate scarce resources.” With this definition in mind, it seems quite clear that the question of time management is an economic problem. How does one best allocate his or her time when given multiple alternatives?
A guest speaker in Professor Otis Baskin’s Family Business course addressed the question of optimal allocation. Tetsuya O’Hara is the Director of Material Development and Advanced Concepts at Patagonia, a family business founded by Yvon Chouniard. Patagonia, an outdoor apparel maker, is a leader in the area of sustainability and progressive thinking. Therefore, it’s no surprise that Mr. O’Hara, a Japanese native, gave me a new perspective on time management, “Only expend 80% of your energy at work.”
Growing up in America we are often taught that more is better. That all you can do is give 100% of your effort and hope for the best. Mr. O’Hara’s message was not to be lazy, but to use the saved 20% of energy to grow as individual outside of the workplace, or in our case Pepperdine’s Graziadio School of Business and Management. He suggested that we consider new career paths or read literature that interests us. There is a tremendous amount of growth that can happen in the 20% of time that we save for ourselves.
I have found it to be tremendously helpful advice. With all the responsibilities of an active, full-time MBA candidate, the work is never really done. For example, I would often feel guilty that I hadn’t fully read an assignment for the next week to take time off for these other pursuits. Mr. O’Hara’s advice has allowed me to relax and recognize that reading a book for pleasure isn’t a sin. In fact, it’s necessary.
-ƒrankie
