What are we doing with our Time? (on computers and communications)

Time is a unique resource. Just everyone has exactly the same amount of it in a day!

What makes few great achievers attain great results and immortality?

How are we consuming our computer and communication technologies?

All of us are engaged in one or more activities and functions every day. Slowly and steadily, the cycle of time moves us from the dawn to dusk of life. We may look back to the life with great happiness at our achievements, retrospect on missed opportunities, or disdain at ourselves and circumstances.

This is an attempt in observing what consumes the universal equal resource – Time and how they lead to end-state of contemplation.

The 24h/d or the 168h/w are same for all of us. It is just that we spend too much on it upon Type-1 and Type-2 throughout the life. When we can organize to do Type-3 work, we will attain the great happiness of success with life. 

1.       Consumers: 

Simply consume the time and other resources with unspecific goal, objective or result.

These are “Time Burners”, where time is exhumed. 

Often, the considerable amount of time we have after meeting the needs of mandatory functions of life (2) is consumed in random low-effort activities. Surfing TV channels (shifting channels every minute), Chatting, Watsup-ing, SMSing, Face-booking, twittering, randomly surfing on internet, adhoc walking, Going around Shopping–malls (without buying anything) etc. There is nothing much to prepare, nothing to assess as improving skills or effectiveness, or nothing much needed to learn.  These are most popular avocations of modern ‘rich’ society. Many of them have no need to do any mandatory functions to exist. Time Burners are high value business for companies announcing 3G or 4G. Very important aspect of 21^st century lifestyle!

2.       Mandates: 

The life’s mandatory functions and activities that seek and use time and other resources.

There are things we do routinely or on need to do for existence.

E.g. swiping card on time, ensuring 40hr in the weekly time-log, Issuing monthly reports on due dates, attending the meetings and sifting through agenda points, checking bank accounts after salary day, filing IT returns on time, scheduling and obtaining Periodic Medical reviews, Attending functions etc. comprise this type. Large part of life is spent on this. Most of us will look towards these as the description of life.  These are done day after day for many years like dawn and dusk. It is our identity in nearly 50y of life. Occasionally, this pursuit grows into a status that we show as THE CEO, CFO, COO, CIO, CXO etc. At the dusk of life, most people will recapitulate these efforts of 50-60yrs and may – ‘be more disappointed by what they had not done than by what they had’.

Almost everyone has a life entangled in this pursuit.

3.       Accretionary Pursuits: 

Time and resources assigned to activities whose results accrete and develop into larger expressions.

Often driven by force or passion, it manifests into grand edifices of achievements in a life-time.

Driven by circumstance, force, motivation, environment, passion, and desire, we engage resources for a creative kind of work. Education phase of life – even if it is forced upon, become accretionary when we stand in Graduation queue to take the award.

Every famous person you can recount in any field developed from this pursuit.

All of us glimpse at these pursuits and its charm, knowingly or unknowingly many times in life.This is what makes human life so unique and expressive. Animals are not known to have any framework to try the Type-3.

While going to work under (2) is like a worker or robot, doing the same effort and task under (3) is qualitatively a different game. Essentially, the “Accretionary pursuits’ require - Ambition, Determination, Perseverance, Learning, Discipline, Teacher-student relations, group dynamics etc. It is normally set to higher levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Arts, Science, Social-Work, Education etc. more easily come within this category (even when it is perceived and pursued as Mandatory function).

• Significant break-through, human growth and development are built upon the foundation of achievements of people who pursued ‘Accretionary targets’.
• Their insights were converted into edifies of growth we see all around by diligent worker-bees following ‘Mandatory functions’ righteously.
• The fruits of such efforts are enjoyed when we ‘Consume’ time with our fancy avocations available as ‘Time burners’  

Everyone can observe these 3 levels of activities in their lives. How one is tuned to (3) determines self-esteem, happiness and contention. Balance between 1, 2, and 3 makes contents of the life worthy. 

CIO is worried. What are our computers and communication technologies are being used for?