Poor Time Management: at the Super Bowl and in Life

Congrats to the Steelers. Even though they were outplayed between the 20's, they made the big plays when they needed to - on both sides of the ball - and showed the world what they were capable of. But I doubt they could have won without the relentless assistance provided to them by the Seattle Seahawks. While the Steelers might have won the game, the Seahawks definitely lost it.

Missed opportunities and penalties aside, the Seahawks were absolutely terrible when it came to clock management - both at the end of the half, and at the end of the game. ESPN called it "poor" clock management. USA Today called it "curious" clock management. Even Sports Illustrated took a swipe at it. Truly, it was just plain awful, regardless of which team you were rooting for.

This post is not about the football game, though. (You probably knew that already) It's about how we manage our own time, at work - and in life. Because the lesson from the SuperBowl is not really about running out of time ... it's about not using the time we have more effectively.

Ironically, this can mean opposite things for different people. If, as example, you're sort of just coasting along, spending lots of time chatting up with your colleagues and coworkers, and not getting much done, it might make sense for you to shorten your breaks from work a bit and dig in a bit more.

On the other hand, if you're feeling really stressed lately, always on the go-go-go, never stopping to relax, or even just pause, then it might make sense for you to lengthen your breaks a bit - or even just take one from time-to-time.

Clearly, one size does not fit all.

So take an objective look at what you're doing with your time. If you need to dig in, then dig in. And if you need to relax, then relax. In other words, drive the way you want to drive, not just the way you already are driving.

After all, you don't want to get caught like the Seahawks did, wanting to hurry, but ending up only going nowhere fast.