11.32 – A Sage Look at Time Management

“Time management” is a trendy word. The trend, though, is to focus on management, not on time. People value time for its utilitarian worth, as a resource to be managed so as to get things done. Viewing time as a resource naturally elicits its comparison with money. Time is more precious than money, say people with a sage look.

A sage looks at time, informs Gita wisdom, with a far deeper appreciation, valuing it not just for its utilitarian worth, but also for its intrinsic worth, for what it is, in and of itself. The Bhagavad-gita (11.32) emphasizes that time is a manifestation of Krishna.

Gita wisdom dramatically spiritualizes our vision of time management. It helps us understand that our time is not ours; it is Krishna’s. In fact, it is not just Krishna’s; it is Krishna. This means that we are not managing time, we are managing Krishna. As Krishna is the supreme manager, managing him essentially means letting ourselves be managed by him. So from a spiritual perspective, time management actually means managing our life according to Krishna’s plan, orienting it to revive our love for him.

Time management with this vision can be called spiritual time management, as contrasted with material time management that sees time merely as a resource. Spiritual time management is supremely rewarding – both in the present and in the future. In the present, material time management often makes us feel pressured, strained, and tense due to all that needs to be done, whereas spiritual time management makes us feel enlivened due to the contact with Krishna as time that each moment offers. In the future, material time management can’t award us even one thing that will last beyond death, whereas spiritual time management can award us divine love that will last forever and ever.