Time Management and the Enneagram Types

Parkinson's Law: "Work will expand to fill the time available for its completion."

A tornado came in from the west today, bringing an ominous high-pressure front. It easily pushed its weary captives around, knocking them from one deadline to the next, from meeting to appointment. Priorities, responsibilities and burdens came flying in from all directions. As to-do lists, phone calls, faxes and tasks flew by in an endless blur, they rushed to devise a plan: they would just move faster, increase efficiency, organize, schedule and plan, eventually making their way to the calming eye at the center. Overextended, overtired, overscheduled, and spent, they finally see reprieve. Once there, they recognize the mirage: if they slow down, even for a moment, time will rush in and pull them back up into its swirling tangled mess.

If time is a constant (60 seconds in a minute, sixty minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day), then why do we "spend" so much of it trying to "save" it so that it is not "wasted"? For everyone, the tornado of time is experienced differently. Sometimes flying by, sometimes dragging, a single minute can be used in endless ways. For each of the nine Enneagram types, time carries different weight. Phrases such as "hurry up", "priority", "ASAP" and "take your time" mean something different depending on which type you are. For example, imagine people of different Enneatypes receiving the same memo from their boss stamped "Urgent". A Six considers it a good use of time to consider all of the hazards involved in carrying out the directive. A Seven would see that it is a waste of time, preferring instead to spend time creating a plan of action. Twos and Fours might say they were using time wisely by reviewing the emotional impact of the memo on coworkers, while Fives would consider such affect-laden conversation a poor use of time.

Following is a brief glimpse into some of the ways that the nine Enneagram types manage their own tornados, and strategies they can use for getting the most out of time. If you are not familiar with the Enneagram, you may want to read Paula Raines article, "An Overview of the Enneagram" first, although it is not necessary.

Of the following quotes, which can you identify with the most? Which best describes your friends, family and co-workers? Click on any of the quotes below and discover which of the nine Enneagram types it represents.
To view the time management styles for all of the types at once, click here.

• "Time is money." -Benjamin Franklin, Advice to a Young Tradesman
• "Time flies when you are having fun!" - Unknown
• "My method is different. I don't rush into actual work. When I get a new idea, I start at once building it up in my imagination, and make improvements and operate the devise in my mind. When I have gone as far as to embody everything in my invention, every possible improvement I can think of, and when I see no fault anywhere, I put into concrete form the final product of my brain." Win Ng
• "I long for the deep meaningful moments - always too brief - which are punctuated by the endless chasms of nothingness separating them." - Anonymous
• "In this business, by the time you realize you're in trouble, it's too late to save yourself. Unless you're running scared all the time, you're gone." - Bill Gates
• "We didn't lose the game; we just ran out of time."- Vince Lombardi
• "It takes less time to do a thing right than explain why you did it wrong." - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
• "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want." - Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes
• "Time goes by so fast, people go in and out of your life. You must never miss the opportunity to tell these people how much they mean to you." From the last episode of "Cheers"