MONDAY MUSINGS SEASON 2 - EPISODE 375
20th July 2026
Benjamin Franklin’s time management
Time is limited and precious as well as inexhaustible. Time Management is not just efficiency but all about effectiveness. #EisenhowerMatrix is a useful tool for managing time effectively. It divides time into four quadrants based on two attributes – Urgency and Importance. You will come across tasks from all the four quadrants daily, but you must assign different priority and different technique for each quadrant to have your time managed effectively.
Quadrant 1: Do first (urgent and important)
Quadrant one is the tasks that are both urgent and important. When you see a task on your to-do list that must be done now, has clear consequences, and affects your long-term goals, place it in this quadrant. These tasks are to be ‘DONE FIRST’.
Quadrant 2: Schedule (important, not urgent)
Quadrant two is the “schedule” quadrant, and this is where you’ll place all the tasks that are not urgent but are still important. Because these tasks affect your long-term goals but don’t need to be done right away, you can schedule these tasks for later (but remember to do because they are important). For example, setting the strategies.
You’ll and you should tackle these tasks right after you tackle the tasks in quadrant one. Many of us forget to allocate time for this quadrant activities. You must force yourself to include these activities in your daily task list. Keep a separate list for Quadrant 2 activities alone so that this does not get ignored in URGENT activities.
Quadrant 3: Delegate (urgent, not important)
These tasks must be completed now, but they don’t affect your long-term goals. Because you don’t have a personal attachment to these tasks and they likely don’t require your specific skill set to complete, you can delegate these tasks to other members of your team.
Quadrant 4: Delete (not urgent and not important)
Once you’ve gone through your to-do list and added tasks to the first three quadrants, you’ll notice that a handful of tasks are left over. The remaining tasks are not urgent as well as not important. These unimportant, non-urgent distractions are simply getting in the way of you accomplishing your goals. Do not allow these tasks to distract you during your focus time. DELETE these tasks or limit them to a small window and do not allow them to distract other quadrant activities.
Let me take the story of another American, motivational story of Benjamin Franklin, to illustrate his concept of time management.
Benjamin Franlin’s time management
Benjamin Franklin was one of the most prolific entrepreneurs, thinkers, and leaders in history. For a busy personality of his time, his daily timetable used to be simple as given in the cover picture. But the beauty of this schedule is in its pristine simplicity: two core questions and six blocks of time.
The two core questions that guide the day:
· Morning Question: What good shall I do this day?
· Evening Question: What good have I done this day?
The six blocks of time that form its structure:
· Block 1 (5-8am): Rise, wash, and address Powerful Goodness; contrive day's business and take the resolution of the day; prosecute the present study; and breakfast.
· Block 2 (8-12pm): Work.
· Block 3 (12-2pm): Read or overlook my accounts, and dine.
· Block 4 (2-6pm): Work.
· Block 5 (6-10pm): Put things in their places, supper, music, or diversion, or conversation; examination of the day.
· Block 6 (10-5am): Sleep.
A quick glossary of some of his task categories:
· "Address Powerful Goodness": Daily prayer practice.
· "Contrive day's business and take the resolution of the day": Plan for the day ahead and answer the Morning Question.
· "Prosecute the present study": Study and learn something new and interesting, even if unrelated to work.
· "Put things in their places": Organize the study and workplace.
· "Examination of the day": Answer the Evening Question.
These time blocks essentially address all the four quadrants of Eisenhower Matrix. Remember Ben Franklin predates Eisenhower.
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Adapted from newindianexpress.com
Kaani Nilam to kindle hopes
Nestled in environs by the Northern banks of Cauvery, Kaani Nilam (meaning a small measure of land, Tamil poet Mahakavi Bharathi wrote a famous poem by this title) is a Youth Empowerment Centre established in June 2024 by Tiruvaiyaru’s Bharathi Iyakkam, a movement inspired by poet Bharathi’s vision of an enlightened and self-reliant society. What began as an idea to create a common space for young aspirants preparing for competitive exams has now become a lifeline for students from villages across the Cauvery delta.
Rows of blue powder-coated steel bookshelves boast of over 6,000 donated books. Around 5,000 have been catalogued, while the rest are being processed. A range of magazines relevant to exam preparation, free Wi-Fi, computers and occasional guest lectures make the centre one of the few places in the region where rural aspirants can study without spending a rupee.
For youths from low-income families, the odds are stacked high. Competitive examinations have become increasingly demanding; while quality coaching remains out of reach for many in the Cauvery region.
Around 25 people walk through the doors of Kaani Nilam every day, with the number climbing to 40 on Fridays and Saturdays. While competitive exam aspirants primarily use the centre, the library has become a resource for researchers too.
Kaani Nilam did not materialise overnight. The initiative began in 2019 in a space provided by an aided primary school, where Bharathi Iyakkam conducted classes.
Then in 2021, when the state government announced initiatives to commemorate poet Subramania Bharathi’s death centenary, the foundation applied for assistance under the Namakku Naame Scheme.
“The approval came quickly but we had to contribute nearly `6.7 lakh as the foundation’s share,” recalls S Kumanan, secretary, Bharathi Iyakkam. For the six office-bearers, the choice was simple. Rather than waiting for funds, they pooled in their personal savings and raised the money within two days. That investment has begun to pay off, as more than 10 regular users have since entered government service.
Success may not be guaranteed, but rural youth find hope in Kaani Nilam.
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Conceived, compiled and posted as a weekly motivational newsletter #MondayMusings by Jaganathan T (www.authorjaganathan.com)
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PROMOTIONS
