Think of your ordinary day. Constantly on the move, you quickly check Facebook, briefly scan Twitter, take a call, work on a spreadsheet, dash to a meeting, phone day care, make a doctor's appointment, and write an e-mail to a colleague, all the while planning for dinner tonight and preparing for tomorrow's presentation. Whew! Welcome to liquid time, today's secret to effective modern living.
Life in the fast lane is a reality for more people than ever before. As the world becomes more connected, as computers, cellphones and e-book readers become a way of life, as communication and collaboration reaches new heights, the demands placed on our human brains increases exponentially.
That some of these new avenues of communication and collaboration can be seen as time wasters is telling in itself: many are somewhat 'addictive', demanding our time and attention, even as real-world tasks continue to mount: balancing and sometimes differentiating work and leisure is arguably more difficult than ever before. But somehow we cope and many of us cope very well, with an innate approach to using our time, which Intel has dubbed 'liquid time'.
Liquid time is how we make optimal use of our available minutes and seconds. We do this through micro-tasking - doing small things in between larger ones. There is no longer necessarily a tightly delineated timeframe for individual tasks, tasks are mixed and matched, in no particular order. Think of micro-tasking as that time when you naturally fit it some of your smaller tasks while doing something else - think texting your friend and sneaking a peek at your e-mail while waiting for a robot to turn green.
When Intel decided to take a closer look at how people are coping in a crazy world, it got Redshift Research to quiz over 6 000 people in 14 EMEA countries (including South Africa) to see how they use their time. These are the top-level results:
* 89% consider themselves to be busy in life
* 91% said that they find task-switching enjoyable, stimulating or natural
* 93% state that they achieve lots of useful little tasks within their day thanks to their mobile device
* 91% see their device as a communication tool
* 88% use their device to develop and maintain relationships
* 87% would notice a difference to their lives without their mobile device
* 52% would actually feel isolated without their device
* 79% state that it's important for them to be connected to online communities and interest groups on a daily basis
o 77% state the most common usage for liquid time is e-mail
From that chaos of liquid time comes the productivity necessary to prosper. Even the smallest pockets of time are put to good use: stuck in a queue? Out comes the smartphone to catch the news and update social media. Waiting for the plane to taxi? A quick instant message and SMS to friends or family. Meeting running late? Check the latest financial indicators and fire off an e-mail to a colleague.
Liquid time is rather an appropriate term for this approach to the frenetic modern way of life. With liquid time, you tend to go with the flow. To get the most out of your day, it isn't strictly planned. Liquid time arguably gives the mind the freedom of flexibility, innovation with time use and - with the aid of the smartphones and other gadgets we've taken to carrying with us - the ability to make the most of every minute.
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