Economics is considered as mother of all social science disciplines, subject is evolved over a period of time starting from Arthashastra written by Kautilya around 350 BC to Adam Smith’s masterpiece Wealth of Nations, Keynesian Economics, to modern economics. Economics mainly deals with optimum utilization of limited resources in order to get maximum benefits. Economics as subject consider the use of resources in the form of factors of production i.e. land, labour, capital and entrepreneurs skills by business to maximize their profit. Customer has to allocate his limited resources in order to get maximum satisfaction while investors allocates is limited financial resources to generate maximum returns. Efficient allocation of resources becomes more important due to (a) resource are limited when compared to their needs, and (b) resources have alternative uses. The benefits from available resources that one derives depend on choice made, management of resources and allocation of resources.

Here we are talking about time as resource, which has typical characteristics when compared to other resources like machine and money, i.e. it cannot be stored, it is most perishable, available in equal quantity to all. If you read success storied of those who have achieved their life goal, social and economic status, one this that is common is their ability to use their most precious resource i.e. time. Nature has given equal time to all individual irrespective of their age, income, gender, social status, designation, economic status. Your success to, great extent depend on how do you use time as a resource, it has all the characteristics, limited as compared to requirement, alternative uses. But in contrast to other resources which can be stored and used in future, you cannot store time in order to use in future. Time once passed is lost asset. Effective allocation and efficient utilization of time is success mantra. Time as economic resources possesses all the characteristics like any other economic resources like limited resources, alternative uses, price in terms of its value etc.

The question that needs an answer is how to make efficient and effective use of time as economic resource? Just like user manual of all other resource, time also has user manual i.e. time management. Time management is process of planning and controlling time spend on each activities. Proper time management will help you in completing more work in short time. Proper time management will improve your productivity, reduce stress and bring more success. Just like any other resources, time management is also a process driven activity. Various steps involved in effective and efficient utilization of time as a resources are;

• Set your short term and long term goals. Goals must be clearly defined and specified, achievable and measurable.
• Select your priorities and attach timeline to each priority.
• Allocate time for each activity, time allocation must be based on importance of activity. Set time limit for completion of each task and monitor the same.
• Identify non essential activities on which precious resource, time, is utilized without much of benefits.
• After completion of each activity, spend some time to evaluate the time spend and benefit derived from the same.

Invest your time resources in well planned and organized manner in order to get maximum benefit from it. Before any activity, think in terms of its importance in achieving your long term goal and time required to complete the same. Using time as precious resource and managing time as any other resource, cost benefit analysis of time will help you in achieving your dream and key to success.

Author:
Dr. Kishor Bhanushali, Unitedworld School of Business (UWSB)