Making the Most of the Meantime

Often we fail to recognize what we have until it’s gone.  If we were to make a list of things that fit in that category, time would surely top most of our lists.  Time never stops -- for anyone.  The only limit to what we can do with our time is our mental capacity to conceive what can be done and our efficiency at performing or delegating those tasks. 

By now, nearly everyone has heard of multitasking.  That is the effort to accomplish more than one task at the same time.  Multitasking is usually done on purpose.  You know you have multiple things to do and only so much time to do them so you multitask.  Some people are better multitaskers than others.  I have two friends who try to multitask when we are talking on the telephone.  I can always tell when this is happening because there will be a long pause after I speak, followed by a general reply that fails to match my previous comment.  I usually call them out on it for fun.

Often, there are times when we are waiting for something to be completed and the completion time is beyond our control.  This creates what is called meantime, the time between two events.  For instance, taking your car to the mechanic for an oil change normally takes less than an hour and does not warrant dropping off your vehicle.  So for about one hour you will be sitting in the shop’s lobby while the mechanic does his job.  In the meantime, you can choose to do nothing, sleep, read a magazine, talk on your cell phone, or watch TV.  All of these activities, though relaxing or entertaining, are essentially non-productive.  You can use that opportunity to do some of the things for which you never seem to have the time.  Bring your laptop, tablet PC, or smartphone with you to work on your long-term projects or to review your list of goals.  Bring some elastic bands and a pair of sneakers to do a quick workout.  Bring your copy of “It’s Always Today” and change your life in 24 hours.  Planning is the key to capitalizing on your meantime.

Remember, meantime is different than multitasking in that you are not obligated to do anything else but wait for something else to happen.  It may be as simple as how my children eat cereal and brush their teeth while they await their clothes to be ironed.  It may be as complex as interning or volunteering in the field in which you are seeking your college degree until you graduate.  Maximizing your meantime is a choice that is based on how quickly you want to reach your goals.  Everything that it takes to accomplish your goals will still need to be done, so why not do those things during the time that is technically delegated to another task? 

Rest, relaxation, and recreation are essential elements of healthy living.  If you absolutely need to do those types of activities while you await other things to transpire, by all means exercise your liberty.  If not, make the most of the meantime and watch how your productivity and efficiency increase exponentially.    

-- Linwood R. Butler, Jr.

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Spreading the Good News

A good deed can be forgotten in less than 5 minutes.  On the other hand, the memory of a bad deed may never be forgotten.  It’s unfortunate, but bad news travels fast.  Now that technology allows global access to anyone at anytime, it travels even faster than the speed of light.  The world has always had an inexplicable fascination with extreme fortune and misfortune.  We love to devote our attention to the lifestyles of the rich and famous as well as the senseless and centless.

As much as we love to hear rags to riches stories, we seem to be more intrigued by the drama of riches to rags.  Jealousy and envy are the main elements responsible for that.  Witnessing someone lose their earthly treasures should be disheartening but instead there are usually more sentiments resembling that’s what they get.  Think about how many times you’ve heard about a celebrity whose home was in foreclosure and thought, how in the world does one squander all their money?  Your next thought was probably along the lines of, why would they spend that much on a house in the first place?  Yet, if your neighbor’s home is foreclosed upon, there is immediate empathy which generates acts of charity and hospitality.  No thoughts are given to how they may have mismanaged their money or if they overextended themselves to begin with by purchasing that particular home. 

We tend to see ourselves as doing the most sensible things.  According to our thinking, anyone who has less than us is not doing enough while those who have more are doing too much.  People who are on our same level are viewed as “okay,” in our eyes.  So, when an affluent person loses what they have, we figure they were doing too much anyway.  The part we neglect to recognize is that anyone who experiences misfortune is someone’s neighbor.  They are also someone’s son or daughter, and possibly someone’s parent. 

Money and time do not know anyone personally.  This means you can manage your money and your time in any manner you wish so that they work toward the improving your life.  In this world, especially in America, your options for how you earn a living are virtually limitless.  You can spend your time washing cars or owning the carwash.  You can get paid to stock shelves in a store or from shares of stock in that store.  The role you choose determines how successful your life will be considered.  I say considered because money and material assets are not the only indicators of success.  There are those who give all they have for the benefit of others.  For them, helping just one person make something of themselves is a true success. 

The preceding paragraphs were a lengthy introduction to the age-old concept of privileged information, or selective secrecy.  The Internet, coupled with the increased capabilities of cellular phones, has dramatically expanded our access to everyone’s business.  In light of these innovations, the popularity of sites to share personal information has spread like wildfires.  The more we hear other people’s news, the more we are desensitized to what is really transpiring.  We are allowing our time to be diverted from achieving our goals.  We often know more about what someone 3000 miles away is doing than what’s happening in our own homes.  The abundance of this information is perpetuated by our hunger to receive it, and share it. 

Las Vegas should not be the only place where what you do stays there.  Make no mistake; sharing good news is a good thing.  However, the time when personal trials and family drama were never discussed in a public forum needs to return.  Fussing on Facebook, taunting on Twitter, battling on Bebo, mouthing off on MySpace, lying on LinkedIn, and yelling on YouTube all mean the same thing: putting your business in the street.  Prejudice and negative perceptions of you can easily be formed when you constantly broadcast your problems.  Be selectively secretive regarding the intelligence you divulge with the world, whether it is on the internet or just a personal conversation.

At times it is necessary to share what ails you in order to secure a remedy.  The rest of the time it is not, so keep it to yourself.  When someone starts to complain about turmoil in their life, refrain from fueling it by agreeing or interjecting with your own tribulations.  Instead, offer words of encouragement or even a solution to their problem.  Help them to change their perspective.  If they still wish to complain, let them find another outlet.  When people post negative comments on a blog or social networking site, erase it immediately if it is within your power, or simply ignore it.  Negativity needs fertilizer to grow.  Stop feeding it and it will wither away and die.  Spread the good news of your existence and accomplishments.  Promote positivity and meaningful momentum.  The world can be a better place but it’s up to all of us to make it so.

Linwood R. Butler, Jr.        

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Proper English: An Endangered Species

We call cancer the silent killer.  In the context of the living body, that is an accurate assessment.  However, there is another silent killer out there; one that poses as a friend.  We all know it as: Technology.  While it has unquestionably made all of our lives easier, created jobs, and increased efficiency, it has also debilitated our desire for retained knowledge.  We no longer want to know how to do something we just want to know what can do it for us.  For instance, very few people read or even carry paper maps nowadays.  Our sense of direction has been replaced with enough sense to follow the directions narrated to us by our Global Positions Systems.  Changing the channel by hand, raking leaves in the yard, even remembering someone’s telephone number have all been exchanged for the remote control, the leaf blower, and the Blackberry. 

Speaking of cell phones, a massive contact list that is impossible to remember isn’t the only double edged sword technology has helped create.  The texting feature available on nearly all cell phones is the wayward offspring of the computer user’s favorite, instant messaging (IM).  Instant messaging was invented to be a non-intrusive method for sending low priority messages to another person who subscribed to the IM service and was logged into it.  This differed from email since IM’s were significantly shorter in length and usually very casual and conversational.  Spelling was not important.  Grammar didn’t matter.  Diction was non-essential.  Abbreviations and missing words didn’t necessarily equate to missed meanings.  IM had its own jargon, acronyms, and rules of etiquette.  The leaders of the Internet industry created brand names for their IM services such as AIM (AOL Instant Messaging) and Yahoo! Messenger.                

As with all things, evolution took its course as we saw the capabilities of cell phones grow so rapidly that they soon needed another category to keep up with them.  Smart phones were born and the world hasn’t been the same since.  We now have the internet, IM, games, GPS, and 24/7 availability, literally in our pockets.  Texting, the mobile version of IM, quickly gained adoration by the young, the young at heart, and the rest of us.  Unfortunately, with texting came the rules, or lack thereof, of IM.  Misspelled and abbreviated words, slang, acronyms, Ebonics, and just plain old malarkey; you name it, it was fair game.  I, too, grew fond of texting although holding a conversation with someone is still my preferred means of communication. 

I didn’t realize how much IM and texting had affected my ability to properly create formal compositions until I embarked upon the task of writing my book, “It’s Always Today: Change Your Entire Life In Just 24 Hours”.  I was so proud when I finished that I sent it to the editor bragging about how there shouldn’t be much to edit.  Man, was I ever wrong?  My editor was not only a school teacher but also the daughter of a retired teacher.  She tore the book to shreds leaving behind a scene reminiscent of a slaughterhouse.  I was in disbelief that my writing was that bad.  She assured me that it wasn’t as disastrous as I perceived, just simple mistakes.  Sure, they may have been simple mistakes, but there were a lot of them.  To top it off, I had actually taken extra English classes during my college years to improve my writing skills.  However, that was before IM and texting was invented which had evidently degenerated my knowledge of English composition and grammar.  I was thoroughly embarrassed.

Proper English is now a dying form of communication especially in the urban community.  Since it’s not “cool” to speak properly, less and less of us feel the need to do it.  Speaking or writing improperly in itself is not the problem; allowing it to go uncorrected is.  No one knows the rules of any game until they are taught.  Once they understand the rules, there should be consequences for non-compliance.  Since many speaking and writing errors are charged to context, individuality, intended audience, and/or ignorance, they are allowed to continue.  Parents who don’t know or enforce proper communication protocol will raise children who will most likely continue on along that path.  While it is not necessary to speak in a manner that is devoid of personality or impact at all times, knowing how and when to use proper English will help the speaker and the writer as well as the listener and the reader.            

Texting is texting and IM is IM.  It is a modern form of communication that is not going to go away anytime soon.  Don’t take this passage to mean that one should compose a novel to convey that they are laughing out loud.  However, take the time to learn the correct way to use our versatile language.  It will take a valiant effort from everyone to avert the extinction of proper English.

-- Linwood R. Butler, Jr.

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The Divisions of Work

Doing or having a job often involves participation in a partnership.  However, there are distinct divisions of work and partnerships.  We should be mindful of these divisions as they dictate what is achieved and received from the collaborative effort.  The words at, for, and with indicate the level at which one is involved in the work being performed.

Ever heard someone say they work at XYZ Company?  That is exactly what they mean; they do work while they are at the company/on the clock.  These people rarely have a sense of ownership for the tasks they are assigned.  An easy way to tell if you work at XYZ Company is if you’ve ever said, “As long as my paycheck is right on Friday, nothing else matters.”  When the clock’s hands touch quitting time, or maybe even before, you bolt out of the door like suspects during an FBI drug raid.  Your loyalty is to the money and not the job you were hired to perform.  If another company offers to pay you more money to do something completely different, you’re gone.  While there’s nothing wrong with that in essence, you need to figure out if this is what you want for your life and the lives of your children, for those who have children.  What were your dreams when you were a child?  Was it to spend 8 hours a day taking sandwich orders?  Was it to work two jobs, one as a telemarketer during the day and one stocking shelves at night?  If not, how much more time will you spend working at these places.  We tell our kids they can be whatever they want to be when they grow up; but do we really believe that?  What they see us do becomes embedded in their psyche as they mature to where if they get to a point where they no longer believe they can be what the want to be, they can at least be what we were.   If we don’t prove to them that the sky is the limit then is it really true?

Working for a company or individual is a bit different than just being on the premises.  The context of the word for in this case means “on behalf of.”  This is why politicians always say they will work hard for you or your communities.  What would happen if a senator just worked at the senate with no further connection to the work he was elected to perform?  You know you work for XYZ Company when your superior, or co-worker, can call you on your time to discuss work; and I don’t mean to complain about the job.  Your level of engagement is much deeper, giving you a sense of ownership over the tasks for which you are responsible.  Your position within the company provides a feeling of pride that motivates you to do more and more to help the company, and yourself, advance.  You know the mission, the vision, and the credo of the company like the back of your hand, not because you memorized it, because you live it.

Working with a company is the on the opposite end of the gamut from working at a company.  This expresses a true partnership where, in most cases, you are a business yourself.  Whether you are a consultant, contractor, confidential informant, community leader, or a customer focus group, you willfully enter into the partnership to work toward a mutually beneficial result.  You may or may not be compensated with money.  The level of respect for and from each party is much different given the necessity of each side’s contribution.  The barrier of entry to this type of work relationship is a bit higher than being employed at or for a particular job.  Working with a company requires a proven track record and knowledge in the field of interest on behalf of both parties.  A consultant can tell a business owner what to do to improve their business even though the consultant has never done the type of work the company performs.  This is because the consultant has an interest in the details of the business itself and not the products or services the business provides.  The business owner willingly adheres to the advice of the consultant since what he has tried on his own has previously failed.  Confidential informants want their communities exterminated, freed from the criminal element that plagues their tranquility.  Therefore, they do the best job at providing complete information that will allow the authorities to do their best.  In either case, there is work being performed at a high level due to the results that are expected from both parties.         

Working is a necessary element of life.  With that in mind, two questions await your answer: Where are you now and where would you like to be?  You can work at, for, or with whatever and whoever you choose.  Your position in life is determined by your ambition and your effort.  Life resembles the game of checkers, whereas any piece can make the move that is in front of it, but the king can make any move it wants.  Which piece do you want to be? 

--Linwood R. Butler, Jr.     

Be the first to know about my upcoming book release of "It's Always Today - Change Your Entire Life In Just 24 Hours" by hitting the "LIKE" button on www.facebook.com/itsalwaystoday

The Epiphany

I always dreamed of doing something great for which the world would remember me.  I never really knew exactly what it was, but I knew I wanted that for my life.  I didn’t have the conviction of a Malcolm X or a Kunta Kinte to stand up and die for my beliefs.  I wanted to be a living example of what one could do if they only would put their mind and effort to it.

As time passed, and nothing extraordinarily great happened, I began to doubt myself, my talents, and my ability to realize my dreams.  There were many low points when giving in seemed to be the best option.  Others, who conformed to the norm, appeared to be getting ahead while I felt like I was just spinning my wheels.  I found myself longing to just be regular.  Wanting to be able to take whatever life throws my way at face value without questioning it.  Wishing I could just go with the flow and make due with what was rationed to me.  Internally begging for God to erase my ambition and allow me to be a follower instead of a leader.

It was then I knew, I had to have been put here to do something more than just be regular.  My ambition was one of the greatest gifts that my Creator had given me.  For me to want to give in, this must have merely been a strengthening phase and a test of my perseverance.  All of the trials, tribulations, disappointments, deceptions, setbacks, haters, hurdles and hindrances were divinely and strategically placed in my life to expose me to the worst in preparation for the best.  It was then I knew, giving in was not an option.  It was enemy’s attempt to supersede God’s plan for me and the people I was put here to help.

I still may not know what great accomplishments I am destined to achieve but, when they reveal themselves, I will be ready.  I thought I had two options: give in or give it my all.  The epiphany was recognizing that the only option has always been the latter.    

--Linwood R. Butler, Jr.     

Be the first to know about my upcoming book release of "It's Always Today - Change Your Entire Life In Just 24 Hours" by hitting the "LIKE" button on www.facebook.com/itsalwaystoday