Page 34 - Time Management

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A Few Myths About Managing Your Time
al—are at the core of Type A behavior.
A good many of the satellite tendencies of a Type A person-
ality have to do with time. Type A people set unreasonable 19
schedules—for themselves and for others. They establish
impossible or inappropriate goals. They cram everything into
the last minute. They have little time for friends. And, interest-
ingly, even though they seem in constant, frantic activity, they
rarely seem to get anything done. Type A’s boast of their fren-
zied carryings-on, seek out your sympathy, or try to impose
their style on you. They’re prophets of zoom.
On the other hand, there are people who are virtually
reverse, mirror images of a Type A. Let’s call them Type M.
They’re quiet but commanding achievers. Their goals are rea-
sonable, their schedules balanced, their dispositions even-tem-
pered. Colleagues and friends admire them for getting things
done. And they seem to suffer less from the recurring ills that

Type A Type M
Unreasonable schedules Reasonable schedules
Unreasonable goals Reasonable goals
Cramming behavior Long-range planning
Aggressive, hostile Relaxed, understanding
Mostly acquaintances True friends
Frequently ill Generally healthy
Frantic activity Steady achievement
Rarely get things done Get things done

plague the classic Type A, as shown below:
The bottom line: you should strive to replace as many Type
A traits as you can with Type M ones. It’s the reasonable—and
healthy—thing to do.

Myth 2: Time Management Extinguishes
Spontaneity and Joy
The preceding discussion should serve to convince you of the
hollowness of this myth. Time-managed people set aside whole