Time Management and the Caveman

I had to laugh out loud when I saw the article in Time Magazine entitled, Should You Eat Like A Caveman? As you can expect from the title, the article deliberated the benefits/challenges from seeking a diet more like that of our ancestors (Actual eating regimen is called the Paleo Diet). You can make your own decisions about its merit. What the article did get me to thinking about was using that same philosophy for managing our time.

So, with respect to those in the past here's my humorous attempt at the wisdom of time management offered by the caveman:

• Get your work done while the sun is shining. When it gets dark, it's hard to see and you won't be as productive. We have to prioritize and seek to accomplish tasks when we can most efficiently complete them. Doing otherwise is not helpful.
• Always keep a club, spear or stick with you. You never know when something may attempt to consume you-or at least get you off track. We have to guard our time. There are a million other things waiting to take away your ability to focus. You may not "beat" them off you, but having a prioritized schedule and knowing what is important helps minimize their ability to attack your schedule.
• Gather enough food for today, but don't try to horde it-you have no way of preserving it. You simply CAN'T save time. You have to make the most of the time immediately in front of you. You can spend less time on one task and have more time for another, but when the day is over (remember first bullet point) it's gone. Each day must be used wisely.

Granted, our lives are million times more complex than those of a cavemen. But, there are some timeless truths that span across all generations. Now excuse me while I go out hunting for a wooly mammoth.