Time is a Precious Commodity

Time is a Precious Commodity for all

By Sandra Idossou

“We must use time wisely and forever realize that time is always ripe to do right” says Nelson Mandela. The first time I read this inspirational quote was last year on the South African Pavilion at the World Expo in Shanghai. Since then, every time I see people wasting their time and energy on nonproductive and unnecessary things, this sentence just bumps back into my mind.

I am sure just like me; you have often seen people who do not value this precious commodity called “Time”. You probably also know many who keep postponing to the next day things or actions they could take today. Many of us do not simply realize that just like many other commodities offered to us, we can make poor use of the Time.

I have come to realize how time can fly away so quickly. I still remember (as if it was yesterday) the first day I arrived in Rwanda. I remember vividly the day I registered my first company. I also remember my first training session, my first article in the New Times, my first meeting with the International Women Association, my first painting exhibition etc..I still can’t realize how time in Rwanda has just fled so quickly.

Today, at certain times; I wish I had more time to do all the things I would love to do. I sincerely wish I had more than 24H in a day. I read this morning on a friend’s facebook page and found it extremely thought-provoking. Amin said this “If it wasn’t for dreams, sleeping would be a waste of time but somehow the journey continues so I give it few hours every now and then”.

It is true that in order to function properly, our body needs some sleep…but really, do we necessary need to sleep for 8 hours every day? Our great continent needs its children to wake up early and work. There are some African countries where people still go home for their lunch break, take a nap, a shower and resume work after 3PM...Africa is still a virgin continent on so many aspects that needs its children/youth to take full advantage of the great possibilities when the sun is up.

Every day is an opportunity for us to do something good in our own little way. No matter how small our contribution is, we all need to use Time wisely so as to be real partners of the development happening on this continent.

“Time is free, but it is priceless. You can't own it, but you can use it. You can't keep it, but you can spend it. Once you've lost it, you can never get it back” says Harvey Mackay, an American author and inspirational speaker.

How I wish African especially the youth, would understand that time lost cannot be redeemed. How I wish Africans, when late for meetings or assignments, would no more give the shabby excuse of “this is African time”. How I wish Africans could understand that time is money and that we should use it wisely. How I wish Africans would understand that each individual has a responsibility in changing things.

Each single day should be used wisely…every day is a new day with new opportunities. To help organize properly our days, weeks, months, years; it might probably help some people to make a "to-do" list or put in writing their personal plans for their lives. And this is another issue where we need to work on….Write…writing helps us to become committed.

Making a to-do list can be a very good and productive habit. But of course, the most important aspect here is to keep them and stick by the outlined goals. And for this, we need to learn how to manage our time, how to be organized and how to be disciplined.

Time is a precious commodity and any minute we waste implies a loss of productivity and money. Let’s plan better our days and lives. It’s time we understand that personal growth and even business development worldwide require that we turn up on time or complete tasks at previously-designated time. Being late is not a norm and should not be accepted.

Time is a precious commodity for all of us. Let’s decide to use every single day as if it was the last given to us to do something good and beneficial for ourselves, our families, our nations and our continent.

sidossou@theservicemag.com