Peter Atkins - Life is Short And So Is This Book: Brief Thoughts On Making The Most Of Your Life

Copyright 2011 by Peter Atkins. All rights reserved.

To Sam and Lillie - who have made my short life wonderful.

create space

Life moves pretty fast. If you dont stop to look around once in a while you could miss it.

- From the movie, Ferris Buellers Day Off

We all approach life in different ways. Some ways allow more time to think, to be creative, to do whats important, and to spend time with friends. Ill give you an example.

A friend of mine used to be the CEO of a well-known Internet company. He once told me he found it funny that the busiest people on his team were always the people to whom he could give more work, while the ones who accomplished less had little time for anything (often including their existing responsibilities).

Ive found this is an important observation. Its often the most successful people I know who are most efficient with their time and who always seem to have time to think and to do more. The trick is people who are most productive tend to say no to things that are unimportant to them and focus on what they believe matters. When you think about it, how could it be any other way?

Of course, activity by itself doesnt equal accomplishment, and certainly not success -- being busy just means being busy. I know many people who work super hard to fill up the spaces in their lives, so they wont have to think. A wise colleague calls this numbing out. They may accomplish their goals, but theyre unlikely to be fulfilled or do truly creative work. I know other people who fill their free time with meaningless activities. Theyre also busy, but they neither achieve much, nor are they satisfied.

In contrast, I once had a smart boss who told me if I wanted to do my best work, I needed to do fewer things, and really focus on what mattered. That was great advice. Many people confuse want to with have to . In other words, just because someone else wants you to do something doesnt mean you have to do it. You cant get more time, so how you spend the time you have is critical. Focusing on what matters means saying no to things that dont matter. Otherwise, your life becomes cluttered with distractions.

Technology presents both potential distractions and also great opportunities to use your time better. Technology is a tool. Used properly, it can help you but, like any other tool, it can be mismanaged. If, for example, you spend most of your day responding to email, or text messages, or checking out your friends on social networks, you wont get much done.

A better approach is to decide what you want to do and what is most important. Make lists. Then use technology to assist you, versus allowing it to control you. To execute on this concept requires discipline and practice, but anyone can get better at it, and make real progress if they want to.

One way I like to use technology to save time is, where appropriate, to eliminate meetings and use email instead. I should emphasize where appropriate. Email does a terrible job of conveying subtle emotional content, so meetings are more appropriate for team building, for negotiating, for personal conversations, and for any other situation where its important to look someone in the eye. But for some things, email is better.

Mobile devices provide a fantastic way to stay connected and on top of work, wherever you may be. If you have any down time, you can read books or articles, check email, or browse the web from virtually anywhere.

Distractions have increased for reasons beyond new technologies. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 60% of U.S. families are two-income households, compared with only about one-third in the mid 60s (the statistics are directionally similar in much of the Western world). Were busier and, consequently, are tempted to do lots of things at once.

A number of people I know claim to be great multi-taskers. The brain, however, doesnt work that way; instead it focuses on one activity at a time. If you switch back and forth between multiple tasks, your brain works more slowly than it would if you focused on each activity for a period of time. Albert Einstein said: It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer. Most of us do the opposite -- with predictable results.