Many people always let a lot of time go in vain because they have no concept of time management. Some people are busy every day but have no time to spend with their families. Therefore, if a person wants to arrange his or her life freely, he must take the importance of time seriously.

Benjamin Franklin was a bookstore owner before he became famous. One day, a customer wanted to buy one of his books, so he bargained with his clerk. As a result, Franklin who was passing by gave him a scare. He said to the customer: If you are still looking for a few pennies, spend dozens of minutes here. So from now on, I will pay a penny every minute.

Benjamin teaches his guests a very important life creed: You must know that money can be earned again if it is gone, but no amount of money can buy back time if it is gone.

The great writer Zhu Ziqing once wrote an article "Hurry", which appeared in our junior high school Chinese textbooks. I believe many people still have an impression of it: when washing hands, days pass by the basin, and when eating, , the days pass by in the rice bowl. When I wash my hands, when I eat, when I want to keep it with my hands, it flows through my fingers... It can be seen that great people attach great importance to time.

American scientific researchers have conducted several surveys and statistics. The average age of their study subjects was 72 years old. The study found that the average person spent 21 years sleeping, 7 years on personal hygiene (including grooming), 6 years on eating, traveling and waiting, and 6 years on meetings. 2 years, 2 years answering calls, 5 years studying, and 14 years working. It is worth noting that the time here is calculated in 24 hours, on the hour.

In fact, everyone’s time is limited, but smart people like to use money in exchange for other people’s time. Time management is also a very complex subject, and the content of most books on the market is average.

Time management can be roughly divided into two categories, one is time allocation and the other is self-management. The former doesn't understand how to allocate time, while the latter knows how to allocate time, but just can't control himself. For example, every time I write copy, I can’t help but pick up my phone and start watching short videos. From the perspective of human inertia, time management is actually a kind of anti-human research. So in fact, these contents are more suitable for people who are cruel and self-abuse. If you lack self-management, I recommend two books to you. "Can't Stop" can help you get rid of addiction, and "Self-Control" can help you better control yourself.

The book "How Smart People Manage Time" that I recommend to everyone today cannot be said to be top-notch, but it can be said to be a pretty good book on time management. This book shares three core ideas about how to manage your time.

1. Set goals for yourself

Yes, the premise of time management is to have a clear plan and goals for your life. The reason why many people are confused in life is because they lack a sense of purpose.

One of my seniors can be said to be a model for young entrepreneurs in Shenzhen in western China. He was worth over 100 million at the age of 30. He has his own experience in business management. He once said that he would set goals for himself every year and every month. The entire company, from management to market operations, all set annual goals and monthly goals by themselves, and write down tomorrow's plans and goals before going to bed.

As the saying goes, the best of the day begins in the morning. In fact, some people plan their tomorrow before going to bed. Here, I have to mention a boy who wrote 127 life lists for himself at the age of 15.

This young man is called John Goddard. He looks forward to climbing the twelve highest mountains in the world, crossing fifteen of the most dangerous rivers in the world, going to every country in the world, and studying two hundred and sixty primitive tribes... 44 years later, he passed through tenacity. With perseverance, 106 goals were completed. His journey of exploration totaled more than one million miles, equivalent to forty-five times around the world. During this period, he was attacked by hippos and crocodiles, as well as an angry rhinoceros. Survived desert temperatures exceeding 140 degrees and nearly drowned four times while deep sea diving.

So, if you want to control your time, first make a life list for yourself in the dead of night.

2. The first things in the four quadrants of time

Many people are familiar with the four quadrants of time. But let me ask you a question now, which quadrant will you choose to do at the beginning of the day? A survey shows that 90% will choose to do important and urgent things first.

The author believes that when you always prioritize doing important and urgent things, you will find yourself always like a fire fighter running on the front line of tension. This feeling is like buying a basket of apples. If you always eat the rotten ones first, then you may be eating rotten apples after finishing the whole basket.

But when you choose to do important but not urgent things, you will find that the important and urgent events in your life will be greatly reduced. For example, if you insist on exercising for a long time, the probability of going to the hospital will be reduced. Exercise is an important but not urgent event in your every day.

3. Leave tedious tasks to others

Smart people are good at exchanging money for other people’s time. But there are also many good people who always like to do things themselves. Zhuge Kongming, the "divine strategist" in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", is a good example. Kongming was cautious throughout his life and liked to do everything by himself, because he was always uneasy about what others were doing. This is his strength but also his fatal flaw.

When Zhuge Kongming went north to punish Wei, he encountered Sima Yi who was unable to leave. The Shu army yelled and cursed in front of the formation every day, but Sima Yi just couldn't hold on. Zhuge Liang was also a ruthless man, so he sent an envoy directly to Sima Yi, delivering the woman's clothes and a letter.

The general meaning is that you don’t want to fight with me, you are not even as good as a woman. After reading the letter, Sima Yi smiled (old ginger is spicy) and asked the envoy, "How has your prime minister been sleeping recently and how has he been eating?" Upon hearing this, the envoy realized that this old man was quite concerned about his prime minister, so he told the envoy the truth. Reporting generally means eating less and sleeping less. After Sima Yi heard this, he actually showed a pleased expression.

The envoy was greatly confused and responded to Zhuge Liang in detail. After hearing this, Zhuge Liang couldn't help but look up to the sky and sighed, "Sima Zhongda is the one who knows me."

Sima Yi knew very well that Zhuge Liang had a long way to go north, that he would not be able to supply food and grass, and that he could not afford to waste time, so he chose not to hold on. By understanding Zhuge Liang's food and drink expenses, we know that Zhuge Liang was thinking too hard and worked too hard, so his time must be short. The result was just as he expected, Zhuge Liang died of illness in Wuzhangyuan soon.