A disastrous surprise party

A story on how time management can save the day… or several of them.

You get a reminding text on your phone: “surprise party today for Alice’s birthday. She comes home at 8.00. Bring the cake. DON’T be late.”

You couldn’t be more excited. After almost two years spent in and out of COVID-19 quarantines, it seems like an eternity since you have been able to organise any birthday surprise for your friends. You change your day’s schedule a little bit*: work, gym, and then you should have enough time to visit the hair salon, to quickly fix your hair for the night. You smile, full of self confidence. Everything will go according to plan. Or not?

Congratulations, it’s a boy!

“I wasted time, and now doth time waste me.”, you murmur, panting in agony and quoting your old literature professor who loved Shakespeare. Funny how some of our memories resist time, whereas ourselves don’t: it is now 7.30 and you, with wet hair, find yourself still in the hair salon. If you want to still fight for a chance to be on time, you have to leave immediately. You rush towards your car, hoping somehow the evening air will transform into a gigantic hairdryer. Oh, no, no, no… the cake!

You keep running. The first patisserie google maps leads you to is closed. The second one- yes, it is open! You pick the first cake you set eyes on. It’s blue, with a car made of sugar cream on top and a “Congratulations, it’s a boy.” message written in pastry calligraphy. Now, it is not the time to be picky. You pay and jump in your car. Of course, there is heavy traffic on the road ahead. Of course, despite your efforts, you arrive at Alice’s house late.

It is 8.10. Alice is already home, bewildered, and rightfully so**. Your friends? Furious. If only you had left work 10 minutes earlier…

“How long is forever?”

What would have taken to avoid this disaster? Nothing super-human. What you are missing is a mere, yet vital, human skill.

Time management is one of the most functional and useful soft skills. It is the means to achieve our goals more easily, more quickly, and more effectively. Are there side effects? By all means, yes: effective time management is highly related to reduced stress levels and significant mental health improvement. When we manage time productively, the benefits are innumerable. Here’s an example:

Let’s say you work 8 hours a day. Imagine that one day, you are asked to complete four, very important and equally difficult, tasks. If you devote 6 hours to the first task, is there any possible way in which the 2 remaining hours would prove sufficient to complete the other three tasks? Probably not.

Time management skills help us set realistic goals, and stick to them, making us more productive, calm, and focused. No one suggests that “perfect” time management can be achieved, nor do we aim to over-organise our day. After all, no matter what we do, time will pass… But surely we can walk along with it, instead of always running behind. Interested?

* Are you curious to learn which soft skill allows you to make last-minute changes to your program? Check out our latest blog post here.

** Wanna know how to recognise Alice’s disappointment and show her she has a right to feel this way? Read about it here.