Giving the questions rather than the answers

One of the goals of the 2Time Management system is to once and for all separate the tons of advice with respect to time management and productivity thinking, and differentiate what is essential from what is merely useful.

The fact that there is precious little research on time management techniques is a travesty, and one of the results is that there seems to be no disciplined way to think about time management. At the moment, the different individuals that present their ideas on time management seem to be more interested in presenting what they think of as their “final solutions” rather than in understanding the underlying structure of all systems of personal productivity.

As mentioned earlier in this blog, someone else’s “final solution” maybe fine for them, but the chances that it works for many others is small. It is much better to teach people how to think about time management, than it is to tell them a single approach.

In 2time, we have attempted to focus attention away from tips and nice ideas towards the essential elements that will never change, regardless of the system, the technology or the quality of one’s memory. These elements, once mastered, help a user to become deeply proficient in the basic structure that cannot be violated.

In this sense, 2Time focuses on teaching students how to fish, rather than simply giving them fish. When one understands the structure, then intelligent choices can be made at any point about how to change the system that one uses.

Another way of looking at this is to say that 2Time gives someone the right questions to ask, rather than any particular answers.