Save Time, Turn Down the Mental Volume

I have a hard time being quiet. I don’t mean I can’t sit there and not say anything for a long time. I can be silent in speech. I am talking about the quiet of the mind. Give your mind, body, spirit and, soul a chance to just rest from all the internal and external stimuli causing us to lose focus.

“And yet, 'Better to have one handful with quietness than two handfuls with hard work and chasing the wind.'” Ecclesiastes 4:6 NLT

The definition I have established for Time Management “is the right preparation, along with the right execution, to control productivity.” All action, based on three key words: preparation, execution, and control (PEC). On the surface, there seems to be no place for calm, peaceful, and tranquil. However, like all aspects of managing my time, if I do not prepare, execute, and control when I get quiet time – it will never happen.

If you struggle (along with me) working to find zones of undisturbed and tranquil time – where you can give yourself the ability to motivate and recharge, you can still apply the PEC method. ?

Quiet Preparation – Seeking Structure

To enter to a place of mental stillness, plan it. Like I say so many times for other areas, it needs to be on your calendar. Allocate it and formalize it so it is a part of the schedule. Plan the time based on what is realistic to you. Any of us who have trained for a sport or began an exercise program know you need to start small and build up to longer periods as your endurance increases. The same applies to quiet time. Even if it is only 30 minutes, 1 time a week, it is a start. I am not going to tell you an amount or duration. That is for you to determine based on your current needs and life.

Quiet planning is a time to reflect on long term goals, your purpose in life, the dreams you have. As a Christian, it is a time for me to try and hear God and His direction for life. This time is not meant to be tactical; it may not even be meant to be strategic. It is meant to crowd out the busyness and life noise to let peace be filled into the opening.

Quiet Execution – Seeking Solitude

Executing a quiet plan takes seriousness and discipline, because the return on time investment may not be readily apparent. Richard Foster in his book Celebration of Discipline states, “We can cultivate an inner solitude and silence that sets us free from loneliness and fear. Loneliness is inner emptiness. Solitude is inner fulfillment.” (1)

Developing a practice of peaceful solitude (even for short bursts) allows you to ensure the time you have allocated in the plan gets used to its maximum benefit in a place that makes it possible. Foster states, “Stay late in your office or do it at home or find a quiet corner in the public library.” (2)

Quiet Control – Seeking Results

Control in the time management of quiet is about restraint. Curbing the inner temptations of getting distracted by your “screens.” Restricting the outward persuasions of interruptions as others “need” to see or talk with you. Overcoming the easy tendency to procrastinate because there are so many other “productive things” you might be doing. If you question your commitment, as noted before, start with an allocated time you know you can control (as short as it needs to be).

The time management of quiet is used as a personal care element of life. “That means, being still and silent can help you lower blood pressure, decrease the heart rate, steady breathing, reduce muscle tension, and increase focus and cognition.” (3)

Give your mind, body, spirit and, soul a chance to just rest from all the internal and external stimuli causing us to lose focus.

Try quiet, even for a little bit, you will see the benefits in the other areas of your time management.

Learn about your time management opportunities by taking and getting a free?Time Management Analysis (TMA)?summary report.?Schedule an appointment?with Dave Buck to discuss a full-time management improvement program for individuals, teams, and companies.?

David Buck is the author of the book “The Time-Optimized Life”, owner of Kairos Management Solutions, LLC, and founder of the Infinity Lifestyle Design program. As a certified professional retirement coach (CPRC), David works with financial services providers helping their clients create a post-career lifestyle strategy. To learn more, contact him at [email protected] or visit Infinity Lifestyle Design.

(1)??Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, (New York, HarperCollins, 2018), p. 97

(2)??Ibid, p.107

(3)??An Ode to Silence: Why You Need It in Your Life, (accessed 09/12/2022)