My beef with time management

Not long ago, I attended a time management workshop. We learned about the four quadrants, productivity tips, prioritizing--the usual.

In some ways, I feel these time management tips and tricks miss the point. They teach you how to do this and this and that and this... and to do it all as efficiently as possible. I think what we really need to learn is how not to do things.

We each have to decide what we want to do with our 24 hour days. And these decisions involve trade-offs. Spending more time at work means spending less time with other things (e.g. family, community, etc.). If we really want to spend more time with these other things, we would have to spend less time at work. And this might mean getting a lower income.

Rarely do I see people even consider this option. It's as if we're slaves where we have no choice but to spend 40 hours a week at work or more. The choice to work less than this may indeed have significant consequences (change of job/career, lower income, etc.) but it is still an option.

Our addiction to the high standard of living we enjoy is not without cost. There are environmental costs, monetary costs, and time costs. Breaking this addiction may be the first step towards lowering these costs--especially the time one. That's where I would start the discussion on time management.