Rules of Time

Dr.-Eric-S.-Kaplan

In this time of an economic downtrend, I see so many of my peers depressed. If money is your key to happiness, your life, like Wall Street, will have continual ups and downs. The most valuable commodity in your life is time. Time is more valuable than money. Ask any dying person how much they would pay for one more day, one more year. Value your time and you will value your life. You can always get more money in life, but you cannot get more time.

 There are primarily four rules of time:

The first is that time is perishable. This means, that it cannot be saved. In fact, time can only be spent. Because time is perishable, the only thing you can do with it is to spend it differently, to reallocate your time away from activities of low value and toward activities of higher value. But once it is gone, it is gone forever. Invest your time wisely, in your family, your friends your patients and, of course, in yourself.

The second rule of time is that time is indispensable. All work requires time. No matter what it is you want to do in life, even looking out a window or sleeping in for a few extra minutes, it requires a certain amount of time. And according to the 20/80 principle, the 20% of time that you take to plan your activities carefully in advance will save you 80% of the effort involved in achieving your goals later. The very act of thinking through and planning your work in advance will dramatically reduce the amount of time that it takes you to do the actual job.

One of the keys to a successful office is time efficiency. Are your notes automated? Is your practice congruent with the times? I have many offices with more than one decompression table. The doctors enjoy making $200 per visit and not having to be face to face with the patient the entire time. The patient, whose visit ranges 30 minutes, feels ample value for time spent. We live in a world of technology; this technology can save each of us time to do the things we love to do. Make your office time quality time; enjoy the moment and make the minutes productive.

The third rule of time is that time is irreplaceable. Nothing else will do, especially in relationships. Time is the only currency that means anything in your relationships with the members of your family, your friends, colleagues, customers and coworkers. Truly effective people give a lot of thought to creating blocks of time that they can then spend, without interruption, with the important people in their lives. I miss the times I spent with my dad, he was such a positive influence on me. As much as I loved and appreciated him, I wish I would have spent more time with him. Treasure your time, your moments, by dedicating quality time with your friends and family. Invest your time in creating great memories.

The fourth rule is that time is essential for accomplishment. Every goal you want to achieve, everything you want to accomplish, requires time. My father used to say, “God’s delays, are not God’s denials.” All good things take time, all plants need time to grow, all farms need time to harvest their crops. All goals need time to prosper.

It takes time to set goals and time for your goals to come to fruition. One of the smartest things you can ever do when you set a goal is to sit down and allocate the exact amount of time that you are going to have to invest to achieve that goal. The failure to do this almost always leaves the goal unaccomplished.

 

Time Perspective

Begin to see that everything that you are doing today is part of a long-time continuum, at the end of which you are going to be happy, healthy, financially independent or financially unfortunate. People with short-time perspective, those in the “Now Generation” think only about fun and pleasure in the short term. The “Live For the Moment” attitude can cause mistakes that will last your entire life. They have what economists call, “The inability to delay gratification.” They have an irresistible tendency to spend every single penny they earn and everything that they can borrow. The time you invest in your practice and family today will give you rewards worth waiting for. Sacrifice short term pleasure for long term rewards. How long does it take to eat that piece of chocolate cake? How long does it take to lose that pound?

When you develop long-time perspective, you develop the discipline to delay gratification and to save your time rather than spending it all in one place at one time. The time you spend keeping yourself healthy saves you time from being sick. The combination of long-time perspective and delayed gratification puts you on the high road to success and independence.

Dr.-Eric-S.-KaplanDr. Eric S. Kaplan, is CEO of Multidisciplinary Business Applications, Inc. (MBA), a comprehensive coaching firm with a successful, documented history of creating profitable multidisciplinary practices nationwide. Dr. Kaplan is the best selling author of Dying to be Young, and Lifestyle of the Fit and Famous and Co -developer and President of Discforce, the next Generation on Spinal decompression. For more information, call 1-561-626-3004.

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