I recently read an article entitled, "The Risk of Disease Will be Treated as a Disease." The author, Otis Port, in predicting the future, makes the forecase that some people will take medications their entire lives just because there is a possibility they get a particular disease.

It occurred to me, while reading this article, that we could beneficially get to the point where the risk of poor performance patternscould also be treated early on in childhood.  And, maybe that wouldn't be so bad. 

What if we could predict future behavioral or performance problems of children and devise educational interventions that would already begin to work on these performance issues while they were children.

For example, most people who procrastinate have been doing it their entire lives. They generally don't start procrastinating as adults. What if clever educators could do more than merely write a comment on a student evaluation card, "Doesn't get work turned in on time." What if these educators in identifying this type of behavior could then reinforce a series of behavior patterns, working with the child's parents, that would make this issue less of a problem in adulthood? 

To a certain degree, educators attempt to do this by identifying early learning disabilities and helping children master them as early as possible in their learning careers. Why not approach behaviors that affect performance in the same way? Educators could identify "time management" behaviors, for example, such as procrastination, goal setting, planning, and scheduling and begin to identify the telltale signs that someone is going to wake up one day as an adult and forever struggle with rampant inability to get things done on time, aimless behavior, and inability to plan or schedule.

Adults themselves could use this principle to see where they are susceptible in their behaviors and therefore need to take preventive actions in the same way that someone born into a family with a high risk pattern of diabetes or heart disease can take steps to make these diseases less likely.

Perhaps it sounds a bit controlling, but when applied to the principle of disease, it makes a lot of sense. Someone might be able to prevent early death from cancer by taking medication early on in life. Why not treat certain behavioral patterns that have a dramatic and immediate impact on people's lives in the same way.

Janelle Barlow, President
TMI US
 
 
 

Please submit your questions to Time Manager Questions and Answers. If you have questions, undoubtedly someone else has the same question. By asking a question, you'll help a fellow Time Manager user become more effective.
 
 

Previous "Time Manager Q & A Corner" pages: 
 
 

#1	Key Areas and Interruptions
#2	Daily Plans and Home Offices
#3	Result Statements
#4	Reading and Responding to E-Mail
#5	Sending E-Mail
#6	Filing According to Key Areas
#7	Setting up Files for the Whole Office
#8	Controlling Loose Pieces of Paper
#9	The Value of Time
#10	More on Results Statements
#11	Managing Time on the Road
#12	How to Get Time with Someone
#13	The Downside of Goals
#14	Thinking Types and Time
#15	Feeling Types and Time
#16	Intuitive Types and Time
#17	Sensate Types and Time
#18	What's Real about Strategic Planning?
#19	What Does Being Strategic Really Mean?
#20	How Perception of Time Influences Goal Choices
#21	The Four Immutable Laws of Controlling Your Desk
#22	Decision Making and Cultural Groups
#23	Paperless Office: Fact or Fiction?
#24	Exit Planning
#25	Speed: Does It Free Up More Time?
#26	Time in the 21st Century
#27	Open Office Plans
#28	The Costs of E-Mail
#29	How Do Senior Level People Manage Their Time?
#30	On Saving Time
#31	Paying the Ultimate Price with Time By Not Getting Enough Sleep
#32	Telecommuting and Productivity
#33	How Much Is Your Time Worth?
#34	Goal Setting and Change
#35	Making Career Decisions
#36	Controlling the Volume of Paper
#37	The Soul Catcher and Time Management
#38	Goals and Team Work
#39	Negotiate Better Goals for Yourself!
#40	Efficiency: A Plague or a Blessing?
#41	Computers and Time
#42	Culture and Time
#43	Performance: Getting What You Reinforce
#44	Punctuating Your Time With Small Breaks
#45	If You've Lost Some Good Habits...
#46	More Proof That Daily Planning Is a Good Idea
#47	Taking Time for Yourself

Please submit your questions to Time Manager Questions and Answers by fax or e-mail . If you have questions, undoubtedly someone else has the same question. By asking a question, you'll help a fellow Time Manager user become more effective.

Link to Time Manager 

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