The Importance of Time and Preparation

^{“If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail.” – Benjamin Franklin}

There are few things in life that are undeniably unarguable. Time is one of them. Time is finite, but the work that we can do can change a life, an organization, or the world for infinity. Time can determine how we succeed or fail. There is a reason why I put Benjamin Franklin’s excellent quote on preparation as my quote on this discussion on time. Preparation is the key to success in any endeavor in life. You want to be a better athlete, then you better work on your weaknesses. You want to keep a job, then you better be on time. You want to be a better student, then you better put in the hours studying. The key element to all of this is time.

            The best of the best in any field of occupation, understand the importance of time. They may not be the best at the X’s and O’s of their occupation, but they understand how to allocate time. All of the best leaders can allocate time efficiently so that no minute or second is wasted in their pursuit to excellence. Now you are probably asking, is it possible to be a savant at allocating time right off the bat? The answer is simply no. It takes time. More importantly, it takes preparation. 

            Now that we have discussed on the importance of preparation, the next question is how do we allocate time efficiently? The best way in my opinion to allocate time correctly and to not overwhelm you students, athletes, or workers is to make things simple. Now how do we do this? The best way to make things simple is to break down the concept that you are trying to teach to its simplest form. You may use personal experiences or have a group discussion on their experiences, but either way make sure that the concept is understood by everyone. Often times the first day of teaching a concept will be a longer day. But once that it is understood by everyone, the work that is needed be done will be done efficiently and quicker the next time that concept is brought up. This will allow you to be able to put a time constraint onto activities, since everyone understands the concept.  

Another way to teach a concept is to teach by giving digestible bites of information. This will take longer to teach, but it can get your team into an understanding of a routine. So for example, we could be focusing on a single concept of the pitching motion every single day, so that it is understood. While working on this concept we will do a drill for that concept of the pitching motion for 30 to 45 minutes maximum. So that the pitchers and players will understand the components of the drill and the time allocated to the drill. This will give the whole team, including coaches the feeling of importance that time has on everyone every single day.

            Time is the most important thing that we have in life, so we must use it wisely. We must prepare, be on time, and do our best. I hope that this has been a helpful insight on the importance on time and preparation. Both are key elements to living our best life.