Episode 118: Managing Time to Reduce Stress and Achieve What Matters, with Brad Aeon
In Episode 118 of The Business Habitat podcast, Sam is joined by time management researcher and expert on time, Brad Aeon, to delve into the philosophy of time and how it can be better managed by aligning to your personal goals.
In his 2017 TEDx Talk, “The Philosophy of Time Management”, Brad urges the audience to reflect on their relationship with time and live more mindfully by focusing on what’s really important to them as individuals. In this conversation, Sam and Brad explore this concept further by considering what time management really means, and Brad explains that how we use our time is a reflection of our values, beliefs and philosophies.
Exploring beyond the impact on productivity, task management, and the need to “get things done”, Brad looks at time from the perspective of mental and physical well-being, and how poor time management leads to stress and ‘very clear markers of time pressure’.
In order to better understand the reasoning behind this, Sam and Brad discuss the evolution of time as a social construct, and the sense of structure that measuring and recording time lends into. Brad explains the three major pillars of a meaningful life, and how effective time management plays a critical role in our ultimate well-being.
Recognising that time is a non-renewable resource and therefore one of the most precious gifts you can give somebody, we are grateful for the gift that Brad gives us in this episode and the practical advice he provides in how to better manage our time. We invite you to invest your own precious time in listening to Brad’s words of wisdom, and possibly gaining a new perspective on time.
Listen to an excerpt
What we cover in this episode
The philosophy of time
How we use our time is a reflection of our values and beliefs
The mental impact of poor time management
Can time really be managed when the clock doesn’t stop?
Time as a precious resource
The three major pillars of a meaningful life
The physical markers of time pressure
The difference between obsessive passion and harmonious passion, and why it matters
Quotes
“The reason why I like time management so much - it's precisely because it's so personal and something that it is so deeply intimate and emotional” - Brad
“Yes time management makes you more productive, yes time management will boost your performance at work and at school, but time management has a much much stronger impact on your well-being, your mental health, and on your sense of purpose and meaning, and that's why I find this topic so fascinating” Brad
“So really time management is not really about clocks or schedule account it's about anything that can help you create a sense of time or time structure” - Brad
“Time management is one of the key ways, one of the key devices though that we have that we've had this this our entire history to achieve this sense of meaning” - Brad
“Flexibility is great but only when people are equipped with the ability to structure their own time“ - Brad
“Being obsessively focused on one thing certainly can help you make significant progress in that field whatever that field is however you also missing out on insights that could come from other fields” - Brad
“Certainly you can give money or any kind of other resource to people but time is quite literally the most precious thing you can give to someone because you only have so much of it and it's a non-renewable resource” - Brad
Links mentioned
Connect with Brad on LinkedIn
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