The need of the ‘Hour’

We need to be careful with words. Once uttered they take a life of their own. The innocent word ‘hour’ has been maligned lately and I call upon Science and History to defend it.

If you go back millennia, the ancient Greeks used to say ‘hour’ for a season or year (that’s where my friends in Germany get their jahr). In the Bible, the day had 12 hours. Blame the Egyptians for making it 24 hours a day. Even then summer hours were different than winter hours. Let’s see what happens in 3025 - hopefully arguments about how much we should work and how much we should play should have been settled by then.

Coming to the present, it is difficult for some to finish lunch within lunch hours, because it is not only to satiate one’s hunger but also to whet one’s appetite for gossip. It is important to align the lunch hours if someone says, “I will send you the file before lunch.” Same holds true for EOB / EOD – end of business / day is when my after hours start.

There are other ‘timely’ phrases used daily which often lead to fracas.

“I don’t have time to breath” could mean many things. Taken literally, you would ask, “But isn’t it oxygen that you need to breath?”, to which you will get the response, “Very smart!” Obviously, the reference here is to the time taken to inhale oxygen.

“I need it as of yesterday” could elicit the response, “But then couldn’t you have informed me day before yesterday?”

“Just a sec” (usually with the index finger raised) or “be there in 5 minutes” or “am in the lift” could get the response “you said that 5 minutes ago”. When told “you always come at the last minute” is not a cue for you to change but to mend your relationship.

Everyone who knows cricket will know that you just cannot finish 90 overs in a day of Test cricket if you had to bowl 8 balls per over (as in olden times). Everyone who knows soccer knows that 90 minutes are over only when the Ref blows the whistle. What worked in the 70s or 90s need not work in the 20s and 30s. What works for you need not work for me – but let’s be mindful that if you prefer the slow lane, then drive at 40 kilometers per hour. If you prefer the fast lane, then drive at 100 kilometers per hour (I take 15 hours to drive to Goa, perfectly normal people take about 9-10 hours).

At a time when vehicles don’t have the patience to wait 60 seconds for the traffic signal to change to green, it would be prudent to start and end meetings on time (Microsoft even introduced the 25-minute meeting times to wind up calls and have time to prepare for the next). It would be prudent to not keep people waiting for your response. Everyone wants to get a move on or everyone will be late!

We are peace-loving people. Therefore, alignment is key. We focus on doing our job and getting things done, and doing it right. Remember: real wealth is when your money is working for you when you are asleep!

#worklifeintegration #personaldevelopment #personalgrowth #mindfulness