Raman covered his ears with his palms while his mother was yelling and coaxing him to shut the video game and get down to studying. When this continued for a while, Raman went out of the room stomping his feet and kicking anything that came his way, slamming the door behind him. Raman was furious and didn’t want anyone lecturing and commanding him to do things every time, after all he was a big boy of 15.

While he sat on the bench in the garden, he felt relieved as he could not hear his mother’s sermons on studying, cleaning his room, eating green vegetables…….. (the list was endless), somewhere within an unexplained fear gripped him. Though his mothers’ words pricked him like thorns, he knew she was right. In the other room Raman’s mother’s eyes flooded with tears, feeling helpless, she went into the kitchen to fix the dinner. She felt hurt but knew that her words were too harsh for him to bear.

• What was it that Raman was scared of?
• Was Raman’s behaviour appropriate?
• Was his mother’s nagging appropriate?
• Why did his mother feel so helpless?

This scene is common to most homes. The answers to these questions are as simple as they are complicated. Neither Raman’s nor his mother’s behaviour was inappropriate. Both were insecure and had their own fears which they projected in their own ways. Raman had been procrastinating and putting off studying and other day to day tasks whereas his mother was anxious about his future. The more he postponed, the more work got piled on leading to stress and strain, thereby hampering quality of output.

The adage ‘procrastination is the thief of time’ should ring a bell for everyone. Time is an essential aspect of life for every human being. Time once lost, is lost forever

– Nathan Nguyen

What Raman needed most was “self discipline”. He needed to schedule his day and allocate time for each activity that was important in his life. Scheduling helps one focus on his priorities. By focusing on starting tasks rather than completing them, one can avoid procrastination.

Whenever Raman felt guilty after wiling away his time in fruitless activities, he got down to preparing a time table but could not stick to it for long. Holding on to the time table for at least two months simply sets one in a routine which gradually becomes a habit. This habit pulls the individual into applying this technique in doing his homework, projects, assignment, extracurricular activities etc. Raman just needed to develop a habit and then the habit would take care of the things for him.

As one controls tasks, he builds self-discipline.
As one builds self-discipline, he builds time management.
As one builds time management, he builds self-confidence.

Raman had been sitting on the bench for quite some time. He had made up his mind…….no more procrastination, no more wasting time, ……….

All this while, Raman’s mother thought over her own and her son’s outbursts and decided to talk not yell or shout or taunt, to him.

Everyone simply needs to discipline oneself. When one has a clear idea as to what he wants to achieve in his life, the chances are very high that he will be able to proactively accomplish it. Habits form over time and how much time an individual needs depends on him and of course the habit.