Productivity Tee Offs: The timekeeper

By Dr Wale Adeduro
@waleadeduro

…a man who spends an hour in the bathroom taking his bath daily will end up spending more than a day in a month or approximately 15 days in a year in the bathroom!

“I am sorry sir. Can you just spare me another five minutes?” I pleaded with misty eyes.
The elder returned the small golf ball into his big bag. He stopped as he zipped the bag. He seemed to be pondering on my request. My right hand explored the cup of ice cream like a potter pampering a freshly made clay cup. I was disconcerted.

“Do you know where we both missed it?” The elder jolted me.
“Where we both missed it sir?” I wondered aloud feeling some irritations.
I was beginning to find him impulsive and repulsive simultaneously. I was angry that he did not seem to be organised in anyway. He seemed to just say or do things that occurred to him on the spot. I sweated through the Ajah traffic to get here only for him to become a timekeeper. He did not even have the courtesy of treating me like an adult. Masking my irritation, I fondled with my wedding ring. If only the elder had looked at my wedding ring finger he could have treated me with more respect. I thought.
“Who is a timekeeper?” The elder whispered.
“Someone who keeps time” I sensed he was going to refer to my coming late for the appointment.

“Especially in the school… He also rings the church bell,” I stuttered.
He fixed his gaze at his wrist watch. I expected him to announce his exit. Instead, he unzipped the bag and brought out a golf club. I did not quite know what to make of the elder at this point. I could not imagine what he wanted to use the golf club to do. 

“Time demands respect. That is why time keepers must never allow a minute to go without achieving stated objectives. The time keeper in school ensures that lessons are taught and ended at the appointed time. This helps to enforce discipline and facilitate a progressive learning experience. The same happens in every productive environment. There is a time to enter the boxing ring and there is a time to exit. Each round in boxing is regulated by time.”
I nodded absentmindedly. The elder is now on a time series.
“Both of us were wrong on timing.” The elder detoured.

I stared at him as if he just declared Satan as a saint.
“Yes. I am right about that.” He assured himself. “I failed to tell you that our meeting was for only ten minutes. Incidentally, I also failed to tell you that the meeting must adhere strictly to our stated objective. There is no time to waste.”
“I agree with you sir.” I was excited that he also realised he was not perfect. “That is why I think we should continue with the meeting sir.”
“The truth is that human beings do not really pay attention to the issue of time. For example, your coming late for today’s appointment has robbed me of the opportunity to do other things”. 

“I am truly sorry sir. It was the traffic jam that dragged longer than I expected.”
“That is not an intelligent excuse in Lagos. Today’s traffic jam is predictable. Nothing unusual happened, you know.” It seemed I touched on his raw nerves.
“I am deeply sorry sir. It won’t happen again sir.” I quickly stood up to apologise to him.

“Better… As I was saying… em… where was I?” He caressed his bald head. “Right. We must respect time. Time always makes a strict demand on us. The ticking of the clock has a universal message for mankind: ‘Time waits for nobody’. The hand of the clock is always in a hurry. Only those who are fastidious can make good use of it without lagging behind. Look at it this way. Do you know that a man who spends an hour in the bathroom taking his bath daily will end up spending more than a day in a month or approximately 15 days in a year in the bathroom!” 
“Jesus Christ!” I was alarmed.
“Please leave the master out of this.” 

“That means those ladies who spend up to two hours in the bathroom daily in my former face-me-I- face-you apartment spend a whole month in the bathroom every year.” I thought aloud.
“That is true. This is why we must be faithful timekeepers. If you bungle appointments for an average of two hours daily then you have wasted a month of your life every year,” the elder intoned.
“God forbids! I rebuke wasters in Jesus name.” I prayed.

“Amen. That is if you are not a waster of time too. Everyone who wastes time is as guilty as an armed robber. In productivity time keepers excel because they do not yield the ground to the enemy who takes away their opportunity.” He positioned the golf club as if he wanted to make a tee off.

“In the game of golf if you are not strict with time you lose the game easily.” He had a tip. “One way you can lose time and the game is by not focusing on the basics. If you look at the expanse of green field on the golf course you will never win.” The same it is with productivity. Pay attention to time. A stitch in time always saves nine.  That is the refrain of a good time keeper.

* Dr. Adeduro is the founder of Productivity Pro, and convener of the @africafarmerunite. He can be reached at FB/IG/TW: @waleadeduro; [email protected]; 08056141618 (WhatsApp Only)