There are 168 hours in each week. How do we find time for what matters most? Time management expert Laura Vanderkam studies how busy people spend their lives, and she’s discovered that many of us drastically overestimate our commitments each week, while underestimating the time we have to ourselves. She offers a few practical strategies to help find more time for what matters to us, so we can “build the lives we want in the time we’ve got.”
Watch the first part of the video (0:00-4:52) and decide if the sentences below are true or false:
1. Laura says people usually assume she is always punctual.
2. Laura blames her children for all of her lateness.
3. She would never arrive late to a presentation about time management.
4. Many magazines ask Laura for advice on how to save small amounts of time.
5. Laura fully agrees with the idea of saving minutes during everyday activities.
6. Laura conducted a Time Diary project involving mostly unemployed mothers.
7. Laura argues that time is flexible and can stretch around our priorities.
8. Laura suggests we should treat our most important priorities like emergencies.
9. One of the busiest women Laura interviewed cancelled personal activities to make time for work.
10. According to this woman, everything we do with our time is a choice.
Key: 1T; 2F; 3F; 4T; 5F; 6F; 7T; 8T; 9F; 10T
Glossary
- to savour – to enjoy or appreciate something slowly and fully, especially a pleasant moment, feeling, taste, or experience
- premise – the basic idea, assumption, or starting point behind an argument, theory, or plan
- sopping – something extremely wet, messy, and unpleasant
- scintillating – extremely interesting, lively, clever, or entertaining
- to putter around – to spend time doing small, usually unimportant or relaxed activities without a clear plan or hurry
Practice makes perfect
Read the article
and complete the sentences with the words in bold:
agenda collaboration frequency resources strategize productivity
1. The meeting lacked a clear __________, so nothing was decided.
2. The __________ of meetings increased during the project launch.
3. Good managers know how to use company __________ wisely.
4. We should take time to think and __________ before acting.
5. Too many interruptions can reduce employee __________.
Key: 1.collaboration; 2. agenda; 3. frequency; 4. resources; 5. strategize; 6. productivity
Match the expressions with their meanings.
|
1. set up |
a. continue to exist |
|
2. carve out time |
b. organise or arrange |
|
3. move the needle |
c. make noticeable progress |
|
4. outlive its purpose |
d. find or create time |
Key: 1b); 2d); 3c; 4a)
Discuss
- Do you usually feel that you have enough free time? Why or why not?
- What activities take up most of your week?
- Are you good at managing your time? What helps or makes it difficult?
- Do you agree that people often underestimate how much free time they actually have?
- Do unnecessary meetings contribute to the feeling of being “too busy”?
- Why do people schedule meetings even when other communication tools might work better?
- What makes a meeting productive?
- People use meetings to avoid making decisions. Would you agree?
- What is the biggest obstacle to meaningful work: lack of time or poor use of time?
- Which statement do you agree with more? “Meetings are essential for teamwork and collaboration.” or “Most meetings waste time and reduce productivity.”
Watch and Revise!
Mastering Your Time
Control Your Week Like a Pro
https://www.cloud.worldwideschool.pl/index.php/s/eiZxyiJ2RKyJ9g2
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