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Namo tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammâ
Sambuddhassa!
A BUDDHIST APPROACH TO
TIME MANAGEMENT
The importance of
skilful time management can
never be over emphasized.
Skilful time management
gives more time to do the things that are important, thereby reducing levels of
stress and increasing levels of happiness. Coupled with scheduling
(time-tabling), it gives an insight into how much time there
really is there for given tasks in a week and allows for the effective
‘budgeting’ of time.
The following steps can be taken when planning/scheduling the week ahead:
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Identify weekly tasks and attach a priority value to them, e.g. 1-3 or ‘low,’
‘medium’ or ‘high.’ The priority of a task can be determined in two ways. One is
how much value the task adds to one’s life (this is a personal view, but seek
the guidance of a
wise
person if in doubt). The higher the value, the higher the priority should be. The
other is how much damage/loss would be caused if that task was neglected; again
the higher the damage or loss that can be caused by neglecting the task, the
higher the priority that should be assigned to it.
-
Based on the priority values for tasks from step (1) determine how much time to
allocate to that task in a day or week. Generally the higher the ‘value’ or
priority of the task, the greater the amount of time that would be allocated to
it.
-
Create a weekly/daily time-table for week days and weekend days and schedule
tasks from step (2) to it.
Here is a suggested daily time-table for someone who works full-time:
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4:00 AM
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Wake up.
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4:05 - 6.00
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Meditation.
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6:00 - 7:00
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Dhamma study, especially
sutta discourses.2
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7:00 - 8:00
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Getting ready for work, morning
offerings to the qualities of Lord Buddha, taking of
five
precepts (panca-sila) and chanting a few important stanzas followed by
breakfast.
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8:00 - 9:00
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Leave for work. There would be approximately one hour of free time while travelling to
work (e.g. by train) to read a
Dhamma (Buddhist teachings) or other worthwhile book, listen to a
Dhamma sermon (e.g. by using an MP3 player) or to do some
Dhamma or personal work (e.g. by using a laptop).
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9:00 - 1:00
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Morning work portion. Plan ahead and effectively perform work duties.
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1:00 - 2:00
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Lunch. After having lunch, there would be 30 minutes of free time (from a one hour lunch)
to read a
Dhamma or other worthwhile book, listen to a
Dhamma sermon, to do some
Dhamma or personal work or to pay bills.
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2:00 - 5:30
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Afternoon work portion. Plan ahead and effectively perform work duties.
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5:30 - 6:30
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Going home from work. There would be approximately one hour of free time while travelling
home (e.g. by train) to read a
Dhamma or other worthwhile book, listen to a
Dhamma sermon or to do some
Dhamma or personal work.
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6:30 - 7:30
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Wash, rest and have dinner (if dinner is absolutely required).3
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7:30 - 9:00
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Free time for listen to
Dhamma sermons, studying or reading the
Dhamma or another worthwhile subject, to do
Dhamma or personal work or chores.4
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9:00 - 9:50
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Meditation.
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9:50 - 10:00
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Contemplation/reflection over the day’s events, planning,
problem solving related to personal
life. Here one should reflect on one’s skilful behaviour during the day and how
it can be further established and also one’s unskilful behaviour during the day
and how it can be curbed and avoided in future.
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10:00 PM
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Sleep.
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This time-table can be modified to fit your needs, especially if you are
a school or university student.
May you gain the knowledge and skills to effectively manage your time and
hasten your journey towards the lasting peace of
Nibbana!
Notes
1.
The latest version of this document can be found
in HTML format here
http://www.vihara.org.au/go?to=timeman
and in PDF
format here
http://www.vihara.org.au/go?to=timemanp
2.
There are online
sutta discourse resources
available here
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/ here
http://metta.lk/tipitaka/ and here
http://what-buddha-said.net/ (top right of page).
3.
The Lord Buddha has
talked of the benefits of not eating at night to Venerable monks (this can be
applied to lay people too) in
Majjhima Nikaya 70,
Kitagiri Sutta, At Kitagiri:
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was wandering on a tour of
Kasi with a large community of monks. There he addressed the monks: "I abstain
from the night-time meal. As I am abstaining from the night-time meal, I sense
next-to-no illness, next-to-no affliction, lightness, strength, & a comfortable
abiding. Come now. You too abstain from the night-time meal. As you are
abstaining from the night-time meal, you, too, will sense next-to-no illness,
next-to-no affliction, lightness, strength, & a comfortable abiding."
For better health, greater physical ease and comfort as
well as better management of physical weight, it is best to eat a good breakfast
and lunch and skip dinner altogether if this is possible. If this is not
possible then something light can be
consumed at night, e.g. soup, a light sandwich, a healthy food drink, fruit
juice, or yoghurt/curd (good for the stomach). This is the secret to
losing/maintaining physical weight without exercise! Even though the norm is to
eat a light or no breakfast, a medium lunch and a heavy dinner; this is yet
another instance of where conventional society has got it wrong
en masse! The proof of the
unskilfulness of this kind of approach is widely reported with statistics of
health related issues such as obesity, heart conditions, pressure, diabetes and
other such conditions on the rise.
4.
Consider cutting
down on or completely giving up television viewing as most of the content is
empty and offers little real value.
Related Suttas (Discourses)
1.
Digha Nikaya 31,
Sigalovada Sutta, The Discourse to
Sigala, The Layperson's Code of Discipline see
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.31.0.nara.html
2.
Majjhima Nikaya 70, Kitagiri Sutta,
At Kitagiri see
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.070.than.html
Related
Dhamma Articles
1.
Offerings - On making offering to the Lord
Buddha's supreme qualities, see
http://www.vihara.org.au/go?to=offerings
2.
Daily Dana - On giving and
generosity, see
http://www.vihara.org.au/go?to=dailydana
3.
Five Precepts - Developing virtue
through the five precepts, see
http://www.vihara.org.au/go?to=pansil
4.
Work Stress - An analysis of stress in the work-place, see
http://www.vihara.org.au/go?to=workstress
5.
An Introduction to Buddhist Meditation -
Basic instructions for doing the mediations of loving kindness (metta), awareness of breath (ana-pana-sati) and foulness of the body (asubha), see
http://www.vihara.org.au/go?to=intromed
6.
Equanimity - Dealing with the eight
characteristics of life, see
http://www.vihara.org.au/go?to=equanimity
7.
Metta Meditation - Easy to follow instructions
for doing the meditation on loving-kindness, see
http://www.vihara.org.au/go?to=mettamed
8.
A Buddhist Approach to Problem Solving -
Problem solving through the development of wisdom (panna), see
http://www.vihara.org.au/go?to=probsolv
9.
A Buddhist Approach to Mental Health - A Buddhist perspective and approach to mental
health, see
http://www.vihara.org.au/go?to=mentalhealth
10.
One Hour of Unsatisfactoriness - The unsatisfactoriness that can be felt within
the space of an hour, see
http://www.vihara.org.au/go?to=onehour
11.
Four Noble Truths - The essence of Buddhism,
see
http://www.vihara.org.au/go?to=fourtruths
12.
Noble Eightfold Path - The path for ending
stress and suffering, see
http://www.vihara.org.au/go?to=noblepath
Online Resources
1.
AccessToInsight.org here
http://www.accesstoinsight.org
2.
Metta.lk here
http://www.metta.lk
3.
What-Buddha-Said.net here
http://what-buddha-said.net
4.
What-Buddha-Taught.net here
http://what-buddha-taught.net
5.
SuttaReadings.net here
http://www.suttareadings.net
6.
Buddhanet.net here
http://www.buddhanet.net
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