Dave Caolo, while writing about his daily schedule as a freelance writer, hits on time management:
I’m not afraid of hard work, but I am afraid of regret.
That statement right there? Those are words to live by. It does not get any clearer than that when it comes to the purpose and incredible worth of time management.
Perhaps my two, all-time favorite quotes about time management are these:
Benjamin Franklin:
Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time; for that’s the stuff life is made of.
And Robert Louis Stevenson (who is one of my favorite authors):
Perpetual devotion to what a man calls his business, is only to be sustained by perpetual neglect of many other things.
Stevenson’s quote above is from the third chapter in his writing, Virginibus Puerisque, titled: “An Apology for Idlers“. Highly recommended. In the article Stevenson talks about the often looked-down upon value of breathing deeply of life instead of always consuming our focus with work and busyness. Sound familiar?
And though this quote from Stevenson sounds like an inspirational one — i.e. devotion to something great can only be sustained by the neglect of worthless things (which is very true) — Stevenson’s point in this context is that perpetual devotion to our work (and I’ll add: entertainment) results in the neglect of our family, our friends, and life in general.