I consider time as one of the most important assets of our lives, something we should use wisely. Sometimes, I’m surprised by how much time we waste when we could have used it better. One of the most interesting forms of wasted time is waiting for something or someone. In most cases, it’s up to us to speed things up or eliminate unnecessary waits altogether, yet we still don’t do much about it. Maybe it’s because we don’t care enough or don’t even realize it. I’m not saying we should rush everything, but I do believe we should question the need for certain waits.
As humans, we have goals we strive to achieve regularly. These goals can be big or small, and we often set deadlines for them. It’s like setting a price in our heads before we buy something. Just as we want to buy things cheaper, we want to reach our goals as soon as possible. Waiting wastes our time and stretches out the path to reaching those goals. It’s like buying something far more expensive than it should be.
On the other hand, reaching a goal with little or no waiting is like buying things cheaper, or even free. This is one reason why people mostly want things to happen faster. We enjoy vehicles that can get us to destinations faster, we want our orders quickly in a restaurant, and we want websites or apps to load instantly at the touch of our fingers. And yes, most of the time, faster is better.
The frequency of waiting
We also don’t enjoy the experience of waiting because, while we wait, we often produce nothing, achieve nothing, and get bored easily. Additionally, we waste valuable resources like energy, time, and sometimes even money. It’s like pouring water into a bottomless pit.
On the other hand, waiting is often inevitable. We wait in line to pay at the market, to board a plane, or at the bank. Although we don’t like these kinds of waits, they usually don’t bother us too much, as we don’t encounter them frequently. The waits that cause real problems are the ones we encounter regularly; they steal the most energy and time from us.
Ordinary waits that have become routine
Imagine losing more than two hours on your commute every day. Not only do we lose time that we could use better for ourselves, but we also experience consequences like fatigue, stress, and frustration. So why don’t we try to change this situation? Sometimes, we get used to it and accept it; other times, we normalize it despite our complaints.
I believe we should make an effort to reduce these losses. For example, we should at least question if there’s an opportunity to change where we live or where we work. If we can make the necessary changes, we might be surprised by the time we get back for ourselves.
Hidden waits to be found
Another example, which I experienced often as an software engineer and a leader, can be found in an IT project timeline. Say you’re an IT manager who just started a project with high expectations. But as we know, IT projects can fail; they can either drag on or miss initial expectations. During this waiting period, a company’s limited resources like time, budget, and people are consumed for nothing. Even worse, you want to move to the next project as soon as possible because the market is competitive.
We have to accept that when many factors influence an outcome, there is always room for surprises. The probability of successfully predicting outcomes in such scenarios drops dramatically. With limited resources, the number of projects that can be done in parallel is also limited. Choosing a project that can be most successful among them almost depends on our luck.
While we can’t always control the outcome, we can often control the pace. By reviewing project life cycles and focusing on improvements to infrastructure and management processes, we can shorten waiting times, increasing the number of completed projects within a given period. While initially, this will also be time-consuming, eventually it will increase the number of projects completed in a given time frame. Although some projects may still fail, this acceleration lets us reach relatively successful projects faster.It also helps keep people motivated.
Speed things up
In our lives, time is very important. Many situations make us wait unnecessarily. Some we don’t notice, others we’ve already gotten used to. With a bit more awareness, we can see that many waits within our control can be shortened or eliminated. First, we need to step back and identify these points. Then, we should focus on how we might accelerate them or find alternatives. Even by speeding things up slightly, we can make more time for things that truly matter for ourselves.
Finally, it’s essential to distinguish between speeding things up and rushing. The goal should be to eliminate unnecessary waits by speeding up what we can control. If things seem out of our control, it may be best to leave them as they are. Accelerating just for the sake of speed can worsen things. We should always try to find the balance between speed and control for the best results.