Ernest Hemingway's economical short story "Old Man at the Bridge" first appeared in Ken Magazine (Volume 1, Number 4, May 19, 1938) prior to its later publication in the book The Fifth Column and the First Forty-Nine Stories, also published in 1938. The Fifth Column is Hemingway's only full-length play and also includes all of his previously published short stories.
At just two pages in length, "The Old Man at the Bridge" is one of Hemingway's shortest tales. It is based upon an Easter Sunday stopover at the Ebro River during his coverage of the Spanish Civil War in April 1938. Although employed by the North American Newspaper Association (NANA), Hemingway apparently decided to submit it to Ken Magazine as a short story instead of using it as a news article.
As Hemingway observes the movement of vehicles and civilians fleeing across the pontoon bridge from an anticipated enemy attack, he notices a solitary old man sitting at the edge of the structure. Upon questioning him, Hemingway determines that the old man has just walked the twelve kilometers from his home village of San Carlos, but fatigue forces him to halt at the bridge, for he can go no further. The last man to leave the village, the old man's duty is to take care of the animals left behind. It is obvious that he takes his obligation seriously, for he worries more about the cat, two goats, and eight pigeons that were under his care than for his own safety. Sadly, he explains, he was forced to leave them behind. The cat will be able to take care of itself, he adds, but the goats and pigeons will have to fend for themselves. The correspondent suggests that the displaced man cross the bridge to the next crossroads, where he can catch a truck toward Barcelona, but the man explains that "I know no one in that direction." Although the correspondent is curious, he is not particularly helpful, and when the old man is unable to proceed, the journalist decides that "there was nothing to do about him." The enemy would cross the bridge soon, and death appears imminent for the old man.
The irony of the situation is not lost upon the correspondent, who realizes that the animals for which the old man is so concerned have a greater chance of survival than their caretaker during the next crucial twenty-four hours. Unable to walk and barely able to stand, the old man's luck has run out, and he, too, seems resigned to his fate at the bridge.
Sources: www.enotes.com/old-man-at-the-bridge-23.02.2011
D.N. Aloysius
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
The Old Man at the Bridge by Hemingway- Rajarata University of Sri Lanka- Internal Degree Program-Year -3 Semester-1 23.02.2011
A soldier (who is also the narrator) sees an old man resting on the side of a road near a pontoon bridge. Other civilians are crossing this bridge, but the old man is too tired to proceed any further. The old man tells the soldier that he is a native of San Carlos where he worked as a caretaker of animals. The old man seems more concerned for the safety of his animals than for his own safety. He has some relief in knowing that the cat will be able to fend for itself, and that since he has unlocked the cage, the birds can fly away, but the fate of the other animals is uncertain and the man is distraught by this. The soldier tries to encourage the old man to move a little farther along, for he knows the bridge is likely to be bombed. The old man, however, is simply too exhausted to proceed. The soldier then reflects on the overcast sky, which might prevent the planes from bombing the bridge. In this sense, the soldier seems to be engaging in the same type of wishful thinking as the old ... more
Sources: www.experts123.com/.../what-is-the-main-plot-of-old-man-at-the-bridge.html
D.N. Aloysius-23.02.2011
Sources: www.experts123.com/.../what-is-the-main-plot-of-old-man-at-the-bridge.html
D.N. Aloysius-23.02.2011
The Old Man at the Bridge by Hemingway- Rajarata University of Sri Lanka- Internal Degree Program-Year -3 Semester-1 23.02.2011 : Notes
The short story “Old man at the Brigde” written by Ernest Hemingway, published 1938, is about a conversation between a soldier and an old man who had to leave his hometown during the Spanish Civil War. The story conveys the subsequent problems for helpless victims, especially old people.
The action takes places at a pontoon brigde near the Ebro Delta on Easter Sunday during the civil war. The day is described as “a gray overcast day with low ceilling”(line 66) and all the refugees of that area are crossing the bridge.
The story is written in the first person and narrated by a nameless soldier whose duty it is to observe the advancing of the enemy. As Ernest Hemingway was in Spain during the civil war as well, it is quite possible that he assimilated his experiences of this horrible time in this story.
After the soldier has explored the region, he sees an old man and starts a conversation with the trivial question “Where do you come from?”(11). At the beginning he seems uninterested in the old man and answers with simple statements like “Oh.”(16), but this changes in the course of the conservation.
The seventy-six-year old man, who wears “steel rimmed spectacles”(1) and “black dusty clothes”(19), comes from San Carlos and you feel that this is very important to him because when he talks about his hometown “it gave him pleasure to mention it”(14). The most crucial part of the old man’s life are his animals. He owns two goats, a cat and some pigeons which he had to leave behind because of the artillery. The repetition of the sentence “I was (just) taking care of animals”(15,17,63,64) underlines the importance of this duty. He is without politics and has no family, so his whole life circles around only his animals and his hometown. Now he has had to leave all this and it does not surprise as he says “I can go no farther”(48), after he walked about 12 kilometres. The old man just has no vitality left, he is described as “blank”(45) and “tired”(45) and his meaning of life has been taken away from him by the civil war and the flight. Even after the soldier advises him to flee as long as it is possible, the old man does not move. The reader notices that he is very grateful the soldier talks to him “But thank you very much. Thank you again very much”(43/44). Perhaps it is the first contact and conversation to another person for a long time and he is happy that someone is interested in him and his worries. First the soldier does not really want to know the old man’s story, but after he heard it he begins to feel pity “There was nothig to do about him.”(65).
In this short story Ernest Hemingway uses a lot of metaphors and symbols. One of the symbols is the bridge, which represents uncertainty and dangers. Those are the feelings most of the people have during wartime. In contrast to this stands the fact that the story takes place on Easter Sunday, a holiday that stands for hope and and the faith in God. The feelings of the refugees probably stand in the same contrast. On the one hand they feel very frightened and worried, but on the other hand they do not want to lose hope. The animals also stand for different qualities. The pigeons, for example, represent peace and harmony and the fact that they fly away, away from the war, maybe is a reference to the refugees who flee from the war to a safer place. The cat being a symbol of independence, does not need anybody to survive, but the goat is often used as a sacrificial animal and this probably represents the old man and his situation. Like a goat which is sacrificed, the old man’s fate is sealed.
I really like this short story, because Ernest Hemingway manages to touch the reader’s heart by telling a sad and moving story, despite its extreme shortness. (J.W., 11c, Dec. 2008)
The whole story is about death
Ernest Hemingway´s story “The old man at the bridge“ is about death and war. It takes place during the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s. The story is told by a soldier who is a scout. He has to watch the bridge where refugees flee from the advance of the Fascist army. Then he sees an old man at the bridge. He starts a talk with the man. At the beginning the solider is not really interested in the things the man tells him. The old man came from San Carlos and was the last one who left the town because of his animals. Although the solider asks some superficial and inconsequential questions he is more interested in watching the other side of the bridge and thinks about how long it would be until they were able to see the ememy. After a while the solider begins to feel pity for the old man, who was a caretaker of animals and is more concerned for the safety of his animals than for his own safety. The man has already walked twelve kilometers and now, he tells the soldier, he is too tired to go on. He just wants to sit there. The solider does not understand the worries of the seventy-six-year-old about his animals, but then when he says that he has no family or relatives and his animals mean everything to him he seems to become more interested in the things the man says.
The animals are two goats, a cat and a few doves. These animals are used as symbols. The man tells the soldier that he is not worried about the cat, because it can care for itself. After the soldier asks if he left the cage of the doves unlocked the man is sure that the doves will fly away. But he mentions again and again that it would be better not to think about the others. “The others“ are the two goats. Cats are very independent animals. So the cat represents the free will and freedom of thought. The chance for the cat of the old man is to run away. That shows the reader that nobody can control your thoughts even if you are forced to do something, your thoughts are free. And you have a free will. For example, the old man in the story was driven out of his hometown, but he has got still a free will and he is able to go where he wants to.The doves represent peace. It is clear that the story takes place during a war, because the chance of the doves to stay alive is to fly away. The meaning of the two goats is not so easy to see. The goat represents unreasonableness and aggressiveness but also adaptability and that is the really important meaning. It is not mentioned what happened or what maybe would happen to the two goals, and if they are able to care for themselves or have to die. This means that the people have no possibility to stop the war and they have to accept it. They have to live with this, and also with the problems which appear in the war and so the people have to try to make the best of it. Another symbol in the story is the bridge on which the two men meet. It shows that some big things change but that there is still a connection between these two things. In this case it is the old life of the man that lies now behind him and the new life where many things will change because of the war.
The old man says that he is too tired to go on. He stands in front of the bridge, thus still clinging to his old life with his animals that he does not want to leave behind. But in fact he will have to. And at the end of the story it seems to be clear that the old man does not intend to cross the bridge and to go on. So you can see that the whole story is about death. And in the end it is also clear for the narrator – the soldier – and the old man that death is imminent. (K.S., 11c, Dec. 2008)
Hemingway´s narrative skills have a great impact
In the short story "Old Man at the Bridge" by Ernest Hemingway the author narrates a fictional situation taking place during the Spanish Civil War. Hemingway (1899 - 1961) was a famous American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. In 1937 he travelled to Spain in order to report about the Spanish Civil War for some American newspapers. One year before parts of the Spanish army had attempted a revolution against the government. They were supported by the German and Italian fascist regimes. The war was between Catholics and atheists, between army, communists and anarchists, between landowners and peasants, between nationalists and republicans and separated family members from each other, friends and neighbours. The war was performed with unknown cruelty and witnessed by an unknown simultaneousness of the mass media. Hemingway was on the side of the republicans, reported from their point of view and was inspired by what he experienced to write forty-nine short stories. After almost three years the rebels succeeded. 500.000 people were killed. The dictatorship by General Francisco Franco began.
The short story "Old Man at the Bridge" is one of "The First Forty-Nine Stories”, written in 1938. Through his narrative skills Hemingway manages to give the reader the impression that he himself is part of the scene or the encounter might have really happened like in the story. The situation is that Spanish people flee from Fascist artillery over a bridge across the river Ebro. Men, women, children are crossing the bridge, but the old man sits beside it. Hemingway describes it with simple, realistic details which incorporate the reader into the scene immediately. The narrator involves the old man in a conversation and asks where he comes from. The old man tells him that he was taking care of animals in his native town, but is worried now whether they might survive the artillery attack. The old man wears steel rimmed spectacles, which do not fit to a shepherd or herdsman. The man is seventy-six years old, he cannot walk any further, he is too weak and does not stop worrying about the animals he left behind. The narrator asks him about the animals and finds out that the man has left a cat, four pairs of pigeons and two goats. He comforts the old man by mentioning that the cat and the birds will be fine and will take care of themselves.
Even if the story is full of dialogues, attempts to comfort, offerings of help, it is a sad story. The old man might have had a life of intellectual interests, might have been a teacher or a union activist. At the end of his life, he is neither worried about his dreams or goals or any political opinions nor about his life or health, but about a few animals for which he felt responsible. He must leave behind the pigeons, the symbol of peace and hope, and the cat, symbol of seven lives. Only the goats, like the old man himself, are lost. Life shrinks to one point of sorrow, which is endured with composure. There are no unnecessary or sentimental words. The first person narrator helps the reader to identify with the scene of threat and hopelessness. The plot is without climax or inner development. In my opinion Hemingway was very successful to touch the reader´s heart with just a few words. (L.J., 11c, Dec. 2008)
The old man symbolizes the victims of war
The short story “Old Man at the Bridge” takes place during the Spanish Civil War. It displays Hemingway’s own experience in war. The story deals with a soldier who comes in contact with an old man at a bridge where people are crossing to flee from the Spanish Civil War. The scout discovers the old man and in the end he realizes the old man cannot move anymore and will probably die at the bridge.
The first person narrator, who is not described in detail, tells the story. That gives the impression that you are involved in this situation. The narrator carefully describes the situation with commentaries, so that a clear picture of the old man is developed.
The main character of the story is a 76-year-old man. The narrator realizes that the refugee is a man without politics. At the beginning he thinks that the man just wants to rest, but later he realizes the old man is not able to move on and is going to die at the bridge. He was forced to leave his farm where he had lived and to leave his animals behind. The man repeats “I was taking care of animals, I was only taking care of animals” a few times. This makes clear that he symbolizes the men, women and children who had to leave their home and their normal life as victims of a war with which they have nothing to do.
The old man also talks about the animals he has. He has a cat which can probably flee. She is a symbol of the survivor because she has nine lives. He has pigeons which can fly away, so they can also flee. They are a symbol of peace. But the old man is neither like the cat nor the pigeons because he cannot flee like them. He is like the third animal he owns, the goat. He cannot escape and is a victim of the war like the goat. The narrator apprehends that “there is nothing to do about him”, the situation of this old man is hopeless. So he is going to die on Easter Sunday, which is very ironic, because that is the day of the celebration of Jesus’s resurrection. (A.W., Dec. 2008)
Sources: www.gs.cidsnet.de/.../hemingway_oldmanatthebridge.htm-23.02.2011
D.N. ALOYSIUS -23.02.2011
The action takes places at a pontoon brigde near the Ebro Delta on Easter Sunday during the civil war. The day is described as “a gray overcast day with low ceilling”(line 66) and all the refugees of that area are crossing the bridge.
The story is written in the first person and narrated by a nameless soldier whose duty it is to observe the advancing of the enemy. As Ernest Hemingway was in Spain during the civil war as well, it is quite possible that he assimilated his experiences of this horrible time in this story.
After the soldier has explored the region, he sees an old man and starts a conversation with the trivial question “Where do you come from?”(11). At the beginning he seems uninterested in the old man and answers with simple statements like “Oh.”(16), but this changes in the course of the conservation.
The seventy-six-year old man, who wears “steel rimmed spectacles”(1) and “black dusty clothes”(19), comes from San Carlos and you feel that this is very important to him because when he talks about his hometown “it gave him pleasure to mention it”(14). The most crucial part of the old man’s life are his animals. He owns two goats, a cat and some pigeons which he had to leave behind because of the artillery. The repetition of the sentence “I was (just) taking care of animals”(15,17,63,64) underlines the importance of this duty. He is without politics and has no family, so his whole life circles around only his animals and his hometown. Now he has had to leave all this and it does not surprise as he says “I can go no farther”(48), after he walked about 12 kilometres. The old man just has no vitality left, he is described as “blank”(45) and “tired”(45) and his meaning of life has been taken away from him by the civil war and the flight. Even after the soldier advises him to flee as long as it is possible, the old man does not move. The reader notices that he is very grateful the soldier talks to him “But thank you very much. Thank you again very much”(43/44). Perhaps it is the first contact and conversation to another person for a long time and he is happy that someone is interested in him and his worries. First the soldier does not really want to know the old man’s story, but after he heard it he begins to feel pity “There was nothig to do about him.”(65).
In this short story Ernest Hemingway uses a lot of metaphors and symbols. One of the symbols is the bridge, which represents uncertainty and dangers. Those are the feelings most of the people have during wartime. In contrast to this stands the fact that the story takes place on Easter Sunday, a holiday that stands for hope and and the faith in God. The feelings of the refugees probably stand in the same contrast. On the one hand they feel very frightened and worried, but on the other hand they do not want to lose hope. The animals also stand for different qualities. The pigeons, for example, represent peace and harmony and the fact that they fly away, away from the war, maybe is a reference to the refugees who flee from the war to a safer place. The cat being a symbol of independence, does not need anybody to survive, but the goat is often used as a sacrificial animal and this probably represents the old man and his situation. Like a goat which is sacrificed, the old man’s fate is sealed.
I really like this short story, because Ernest Hemingway manages to touch the reader’s heart by telling a sad and moving story, despite its extreme shortness. (J.W., 11c, Dec. 2008)
The whole story is about death
Ernest Hemingway´s story “The old man at the bridge“ is about death and war. It takes place during the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s. The story is told by a soldier who is a scout. He has to watch the bridge where refugees flee from the advance of the Fascist army. Then he sees an old man at the bridge. He starts a talk with the man. At the beginning the solider is not really interested in the things the man tells him. The old man came from San Carlos and was the last one who left the town because of his animals. Although the solider asks some superficial and inconsequential questions he is more interested in watching the other side of the bridge and thinks about how long it would be until they were able to see the ememy. After a while the solider begins to feel pity for the old man, who was a caretaker of animals and is more concerned for the safety of his animals than for his own safety. The man has already walked twelve kilometers and now, he tells the soldier, he is too tired to go on. He just wants to sit there. The solider does not understand the worries of the seventy-six-year-old about his animals, but then when he says that he has no family or relatives and his animals mean everything to him he seems to become more interested in the things the man says.
The animals are two goats, a cat and a few doves. These animals are used as symbols. The man tells the soldier that he is not worried about the cat, because it can care for itself. After the soldier asks if he left the cage of the doves unlocked the man is sure that the doves will fly away. But he mentions again and again that it would be better not to think about the others. “The others“ are the two goats. Cats are very independent animals. So the cat represents the free will and freedom of thought. The chance for the cat of the old man is to run away. That shows the reader that nobody can control your thoughts even if you are forced to do something, your thoughts are free. And you have a free will. For example, the old man in the story was driven out of his hometown, but he has got still a free will and he is able to go where he wants to.The doves represent peace. It is clear that the story takes place during a war, because the chance of the doves to stay alive is to fly away. The meaning of the two goats is not so easy to see. The goat represents unreasonableness and aggressiveness but also adaptability and that is the really important meaning. It is not mentioned what happened or what maybe would happen to the two goals, and if they are able to care for themselves or have to die. This means that the people have no possibility to stop the war and they have to accept it. They have to live with this, and also with the problems which appear in the war and so the people have to try to make the best of it. Another symbol in the story is the bridge on which the two men meet. It shows that some big things change but that there is still a connection between these two things. In this case it is the old life of the man that lies now behind him and the new life where many things will change because of the war.
The old man says that he is too tired to go on. He stands in front of the bridge, thus still clinging to his old life with his animals that he does not want to leave behind. But in fact he will have to. And at the end of the story it seems to be clear that the old man does not intend to cross the bridge and to go on. So you can see that the whole story is about death. And in the end it is also clear for the narrator – the soldier – and the old man that death is imminent. (K.S., 11c, Dec. 2008)
Hemingway´s narrative skills have a great impact
In the short story "Old Man at the Bridge" by Ernest Hemingway the author narrates a fictional situation taking place during the Spanish Civil War. Hemingway (1899 - 1961) was a famous American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. In 1937 he travelled to Spain in order to report about the Spanish Civil War for some American newspapers. One year before parts of the Spanish army had attempted a revolution against the government. They were supported by the German and Italian fascist regimes. The war was between Catholics and atheists, between army, communists and anarchists, between landowners and peasants, between nationalists and republicans and separated family members from each other, friends and neighbours. The war was performed with unknown cruelty and witnessed by an unknown simultaneousness of the mass media. Hemingway was on the side of the republicans, reported from their point of view and was inspired by what he experienced to write forty-nine short stories. After almost three years the rebels succeeded. 500.000 people were killed. The dictatorship by General Francisco Franco began.
The short story "Old Man at the Bridge" is one of "The First Forty-Nine Stories”, written in 1938. Through his narrative skills Hemingway manages to give the reader the impression that he himself is part of the scene or the encounter might have really happened like in the story. The situation is that Spanish people flee from Fascist artillery over a bridge across the river Ebro. Men, women, children are crossing the bridge, but the old man sits beside it. Hemingway describes it with simple, realistic details which incorporate the reader into the scene immediately. The narrator involves the old man in a conversation and asks where he comes from. The old man tells him that he was taking care of animals in his native town, but is worried now whether they might survive the artillery attack. The old man wears steel rimmed spectacles, which do not fit to a shepherd or herdsman. The man is seventy-six years old, he cannot walk any further, he is too weak and does not stop worrying about the animals he left behind. The narrator asks him about the animals and finds out that the man has left a cat, four pairs of pigeons and two goats. He comforts the old man by mentioning that the cat and the birds will be fine and will take care of themselves.
Even if the story is full of dialogues, attempts to comfort, offerings of help, it is a sad story. The old man might have had a life of intellectual interests, might have been a teacher or a union activist. At the end of his life, he is neither worried about his dreams or goals or any political opinions nor about his life or health, but about a few animals for which he felt responsible. He must leave behind the pigeons, the symbol of peace and hope, and the cat, symbol of seven lives. Only the goats, like the old man himself, are lost. Life shrinks to one point of sorrow, which is endured with composure. There are no unnecessary or sentimental words. The first person narrator helps the reader to identify with the scene of threat and hopelessness. The plot is without climax or inner development. In my opinion Hemingway was very successful to touch the reader´s heart with just a few words. (L.J., 11c, Dec. 2008)
The old man symbolizes the victims of war
The short story “Old Man at the Bridge” takes place during the Spanish Civil War. It displays Hemingway’s own experience in war. The story deals with a soldier who comes in contact with an old man at a bridge where people are crossing to flee from the Spanish Civil War. The scout discovers the old man and in the end he realizes the old man cannot move anymore and will probably die at the bridge.
The first person narrator, who is not described in detail, tells the story. That gives the impression that you are involved in this situation. The narrator carefully describes the situation with commentaries, so that a clear picture of the old man is developed.
The main character of the story is a 76-year-old man. The narrator realizes that the refugee is a man without politics. At the beginning he thinks that the man just wants to rest, but later he realizes the old man is not able to move on and is going to die at the bridge. He was forced to leave his farm where he had lived and to leave his animals behind. The man repeats “I was taking care of animals, I was only taking care of animals” a few times. This makes clear that he symbolizes the men, women and children who had to leave their home and their normal life as victims of a war with which they have nothing to do.
The old man also talks about the animals he has. He has a cat which can probably flee. She is a symbol of the survivor because she has nine lives. He has pigeons which can fly away, so they can also flee. They are a symbol of peace. But the old man is neither like the cat nor the pigeons because he cannot flee like them. He is like the third animal he owns, the goat. He cannot escape and is a victim of the war like the goat. The narrator apprehends that “there is nothing to do about him”, the situation of this old man is hopeless. So he is going to die on Easter Sunday, which is very ironic, because that is the day of the celebration of Jesus’s resurrection. (A.W., Dec. 2008)
Sources: www.gs.cidsnet.de/.../hemingway_oldmanatthebridge.htm-23.02.2011
D.N. ALOYSIUS -23.02.2011
The Old Man at the Bridge by Hemingway- Rajarata University of Sri Lanka- Internal Degree Program-Year -3 Semester-1 23.02.2011
An old man with steel rimmed spectacles and very dusty clothes sat by the side of the road. There was a pontoon bridge across the river and carts, trucks, and men, women and children were crossing it. The mule-drawn carts staggered up the steep bank from the bridge with soldiers helping push against the spokes of the wheels. The trucks ground up and away heading out of it all and the peasants plodded along in the ankle deep dust. But the old man sat there without moving. He was too tired to go any farther.
It was my business to cross the bridge, explore the bridgehead beyond and find out to what point the enemy had advanced. I did this and returned over the bridge. There were not so many carts now and very few people on foot, but the old man was still there.
"Where do you come from?" I asked him.
"From San Carlos," he said, and smiled.
That was his native town and so it gave him pleasure to mention it and he smiled.
"I was taking care of animals," he explained. "Oh," I said, not quite understanding.
"Yes," he said, "I stayed, you see, taking care of animals. I was the last one to leave the town of San Carlos."
He did not look like a shepherd nor a herdsman and I looked at his black dusty clothes and his gray dusty face and his steel rimmed spectacles and said, "What animals were they?"
"Various animals," he said, and shook his head. "I had to leave them."
I was watching the bridge and the African looking country of the Ebro Delta and wondering how long now it would be before we would see the enemy, and listening all the while for the first noises that would signal that ever mysterious event called contact, and the old man still sat there.
"What animals were they?" I asked.
"There were three animals altogether," he explained. "There were two goats and a cat and then there were four pairs of pigeons."
"And you had to leave them?" I asked.
"Yes. Because of the artillery. The captain told me to go because of the artillery."
"And you have no family?" I asked, watching the far end of the bridge where a few last carts were hurrying down the slope of the bank.
"No," he said, "only the animals I stated. The cat, of course, will be all right. A cat can look out for itself, but I cannot think what will become of the others."
"What politics have you?" I asked.
"I am without politics," he said. "I am seventy-six years old. I have come twelve kilometers now and I think now I can go no further." "This is not a good place to stop," I said. "If you can make it, there are trucks up the road where it forks for Tortosa."
"I will wait a while," he said, "and then I will go. Where do the trucks go?"
"Towards Barcelona," I told him.
"I know no one in that direction," he said, "but thank you very much. Thank you again very much."
He looked at me very blankly and tiredly, then said, having to share his worry with some one, "The cat will be all right, I am sure. There is no need to be unquiet about the cat. But the others. Now what do you think about the others?"
"Why they'll probably come through it all right." "You think so?"
"Why not," I said, watching the far bank where now there were no carts.
"But what will they do under the artillery when I was told to leave because of the artillery?"
"Did you leave the dove cage unlocked?" I asked. "Yes."
"Then they'll fly."
"Yes, certainly they'll fly. But the others. It's better not to think about the others," he said.
"If you are rested I would go," I urged. "Get up and try to walk now."
"Thank you," he said and got to his feet, swayed from side to side and then sat down backwards in the dust.
"I was taking care of animals," he said dully, but no longer to me. "I was only taking care of animals."
There was nothing to do about him. It was Easter Sunday and the Fascists were advancing toward the Ebro. It was a gray overcast day with a low ceiling so their planes were not up. That and the fact that cats know how to look after themselves was all the good luck that old man would ever have.
Sources:soundandsense.blog.co.uk/.../the-old-man-at-the-bridge-5394917/22.02.2011
D.N. Aloysius-23.02.2011
It was my business to cross the bridge, explore the bridgehead beyond and find out to what point the enemy had advanced. I did this and returned over the bridge. There were not so many carts now and very few people on foot, but the old man was still there.
"Where do you come from?" I asked him.
"From San Carlos," he said, and smiled.
That was his native town and so it gave him pleasure to mention it and he smiled.
"I was taking care of animals," he explained. "Oh," I said, not quite understanding.
"Yes," he said, "I stayed, you see, taking care of animals. I was the last one to leave the town of San Carlos."
He did not look like a shepherd nor a herdsman and I looked at his black dusty clothes and his gray dusty face and his steel rimmed spectacles and said, "What animals were they?"
"Various animals," he said, and shook his head. "I had to leave them."
I was watching the bridge and the African looking country of the Ebro Delta and wondering how long now it would be before we would see the enemy, and listening all the while for the first noises that would signal that ever mysterious event called contact, and the old man still sat there.
"What animals were they?" I asked.
"There were three animals altogether," he explained. "There were two goats and a cat and then there were four pairs of pigeons."
"And you had to leave them?" I asked.
"Yes. Because of the artillery. The captain told me to go because of the artillery."
"And you have no family?" I asked, watching the far end of the bridge where a few last carts were hurrying down the slope of the bank.
"No," he said, "only the animals I stated. The cat, of course, will be all right. A cat can look out for itself, but I cannot think what will become of the others."
"What politics have you?" I asked.
"I am without politics," he said. "I am seventy-six years old. I have come twelve kilometers now and I think now I can go no further." "This is not a good place to stop," I said. "If you can make it, there are trucks up the road where it forks for Tortosa."
"I will wait a while," he said, "and then I will go. Where do the trucks go?"
"Towards Barcelona," I told him.
"I know no one in that direction," he said, "but thank you very much. Thank you again very much."
He looked at me very blankly and tiredly, then said, having to share his worry with some one, "The cat will be all right, I am sure. There is no need to be unquiet about the cat. But the others. Now what do you think about the others?"
"Why they'll probably come through it all right." "You think so?"
"Why not," I said, watching the far bank where now there were no carts.
"But what will they do under the artillery when I was told to leave because of the artillery?"
"Did you leave the dove cage unlocked?" I asked. "Yes."
"Then they'll fly."
"Yes, certainly they'll fly. But the others. It's better not to think about the others," he said.
"If you are rested I would go," I urged. "Get up and try to walk now."
"Thank you," he said and got to his feet, swayed from side to side and then sat down backwards in the dust.
"I was taking care of animals," he said dully, but no longer to me. "I was only taking care of animals."
There was nothing to do about him. It was Easter Sunday and the Fascists were advancing toward the Ebro. It was a gray overcast day with a low ceiling so their planes were not up. That and the fact that cats know how to look after themselves was all the good luck that old man would ever have.
Sources:soundandsense.blog.co.uk/.../the-old-man-at-the-bridge-5394917/22.02.2011
D.N. Aloysius-23.02.2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
How Poverty leads women conquering for survival in this world? -Subajana Jayaseelan- Lecturer In English -Vavuniya Campus-21.02.2011
How Poverty leads women conquering for survival in this world?
In general, there is an assumption that women are the delicate creation of God; from the ancient stonage to present scientific world this is the story, though, women have proved their talents in many ways. However, women are considered as the secondary or inferior ones to men at the social status, even the rate of literacy at the skyrocket level. Of course, women are soft and fragile in physical appearance, but they have enough willpower, potency and confidence to face the challenges for a successful life.
The time has changed vastly; even the nations are governed by women now. Even then, there are thousands and thousands of women have been tied with the hands of poverty, still then and there, suffering very badly. They have been bullied and ill-treated by men. This scenario can be found in every nook and corner. It’s (It is) really regrettable and heart rending bitter incidents and experiences.
The primary cause behind this is, no doubt, men who are irresponsible to look after their families, lazy to work, illiterate, arrogance, malpractices such as addicted to alcohol, drugs and smoking and so on. They waste money in vain. It’s a well known fact, that men from those rural areas generally drink and laze around while the wives go abroad and slave away and suffer abuse etc.
As a result, women are forced to take the whole responsibilities and burdens on their both shoulders. This compels them, to face innumerable problems and hardships in their lives. To get rid of impoverished agonies and aggressive situation, they look for the greener pastures because no option for this pitiable women; so this ends up in taking them to Middle East, where they bear indescribable nightmares and nostalgias.
Day in and out, we read in newspapers and hear from the other Medias, many bitter and blood freezing incidents are taken place in Middle East. Recently, a few months back ,there was a burning issue in all modes of Medias about a woman, who went to the Middle East as a house maid, was driven with twenty -four nails in her body as a punishment by her Saudi Arabian employer as she was complaining of her heavy workload. She was traumatized with beatings and physical abuses. This clearly signifies how meanly the women are treated by cruel men. According to human rights report, many foreign housemaids, in oil-rich gulf, sometimes work twenty –one hour a day without medical care, enough food, no right to go home and they also face violence and harassments.
The treatment of Sri Lankan woman is most despicable. These countries should try to create jobs for its people rather than export them into Arab barbaric heartless slavery. I wonder why most people are not showing any rage for this case, and other similar cases. I believe there are thousands of similar cases happened in Saudi and other Gulf countries, every few weeks I read such story in a local newspaper. Hence, the hardships of migrant workers become a social issue; Hence, every citizen of the country, government and relevant authorities should have the bounden duty to get a permanent solution for this issue.
The main reason is poverty; to free them from paucity only women go there, leaving their loving children and husbands. In this gap, many unexpected twists and turns took place place besides, hopes and dreams of the women get shattered once they reach the Middle East and return to the mother country, Sri Lanka, not only without money, but also losing all their moral values. By the time the mother lands in the country, she can see the disaster and the destruction of the whole family such as husband is married again to somebody or having illegal relationship, children are ill treated by their step mother or the relatives and left out in an eye -folded situation. The root cause for such happenings is irresponsibleness of men.
So, the innocent children, newly sprout buds and tomorrow’s blooming flowers, are withered and lost the fragrance and stained. The children, who are the heroes of tomorrow, lost (lose) their beautiful future and they are left in the desert. This dilapidated condition aggravates the situation of the developing countries like Sri Lanka more and more; this may drag the country behind in the global rank of prosperity.
The hard earned wages of domestic workers form a significant part of the billions of dollars in remittances are being sent home for developing countries every year. Hence, unions, activists and human rights campaigners voiced that the migrant workers need greater protection, but governments of Arab are failing to include them in laws or their rights are limited.
Nevertheless, for the betterment of women’s bright future the Sri Lankan government has the immense accountability by enforcing immediate action to save our mothers, sisters and daughters. Hence, poverty should be eradicated from the country like Sri Lanka and other developing countries such as Vietnam, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. All in all, protecting and giving due respect to women is the duty of every man of the country.
Source
http://www.google.lk/search?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-20.02.2011US%3Aofficial&channel=s&hl=en&source=hp&q=island+article+woman+nailed+in+midle+east&meta=&btnG=Google+Search
The Island; 20.032011
D.N. Aloysius
21.02.2011
In general, there is an assumption that women are the delicate creation of God; from the ancient stonage to present scientific world this is the story, though, women have proved their talents in many ways. However, women are considered as the secondary or inferior ones to men at the social status, even the rate of literacy at the skyrocket level. Of course, women are soft and fragile in physical appearance, but they have enough willpower, potency and confidence to face the challenges for a successful life.
The time has changed vastly; even the nations are governed by women now. Even then, there are thousands and thousands of women have been tied with the hands of poverty, still then and there, suffering very badly. They have been bullied and ill-treated by men. This scenario can be found in every nook and corner. It’s (It is) really regrettable and heart rending bitter incidents and experiences.
The primary cause behind this is, no doubt, men who are irresponsible to look after their families, lazy to work, illiterate, arrogance, malpractices such as addicted to alcohol, drugs and smoking and so on. They waste money in vain. It’s a well known fact, that men from those rural areas generally drink and laze around while the wives go abroad and slave away and suffer abuse etc.
As a result, women are forced to take the whole responsibilities and burdens on their both shoulders. This compels them, to face innumerable problems and hardships in their lives. To get rid of impoverished agonies and aggressive situation, they look for the greener pastures because no option for this pitiable women; so this ends up in taking them to Middle East, where they bear indescribable nightmares and nostalgias.
Day in and out, we read in newspapers and hear from the other Medias, many bitter and blood freezing incidents are taken place in Middle East. Recently, a few months back ,there was a burning issue in all modes of Medias about a woman, who went to the Middle East as a house maid, was driven with twenty -four nails in her body as a punishment by her Saudi Arabian employer as she was complaining of her heavy workload. She was traumatized with beatings and physical abuses. This clearly signifies how meanly the women are treated by cruel men. According to human rights report, many foreign housemaids, in oil-rich gulf, sometimes work twenty –one hour a day without medical care, enough food, no right to go home and they also face violence and harassments.
The treatment of Sri Lankan woman is most despicable. These countries should try to create jobs for its people rather than export them into Arab barbaric heartless slavery. I wonder why most people are not showing any rage for this case, and other similar cases. I believe there are thousands of similar cases happened in Saudi and other Gulf countries, every few weeks I read such story in a local newspaper. Hence, the hardships of migrant workers become a social issue; Hence, every citizen of the country, government and relevant authorities should have the bounden duty to get a permanent solution for this issue.
The main reason is poverty; to free them from paucity only women go there, leaving their loving children and husbands. In this gap, many unexpected twists and turns took place place besides, hopes and dreams of the women get shattered once they reach the Middle East and return to the mother country, Sri Lanka, not only without money, but also losing all their moral values. By the time the mother lands in the country, she can see the disaster and the destruction of the whole family such as husband is married again to somebody or having illegal relationship, children are ill treated by their step mother or the relatives and left out in an eye -folded situation. The root cause for such happenings is irresponsibleness of men.
So, the innocent children, newly sprout buds and tomorrow’s blooming flowers, are withered and lost the fragrance and stained. The children, who are the heroes of tomorrow, lost (lose) their beautiful future and they are left in the desert. This dilapidated condition aggravates the situation of the developing countries like Sri Lanka more and more; this may drag the country behind in the global rank of prosperity.
The hard earned wages of domestic workers form a significant part of the billions of dollars in remittances are being sent home for developing countries every year. Hence, unions, activists and human rights campaigners voiced that the migrant workers need greater protection, but governments of Arab are failing to include them in laws or their rights are limited.
Nevertheless, for the betterment of women’s bright future the Sri Lankan government has the immense accountability by enforcing immediate action to save our mothers, sisters and daughters. Hence, poverty should be eradicated from the country like Sri Lanka and other developing countries such as Vietnam, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. All in all, protecting and giving due respect to women is the duty of every man of the country.
Source
http://www.google.lk/search?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-20.02.2011US%3Aofficial&channel=s&hl=en&source=hp&q=island+article+woman+nailed+in+midle+east&meta=&btnG=Google+Search
The Island; 20.032011
D.N. Aloysius
21.02.2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Friendship by Subajana Jayaseelan Lecturer in English Vavuniya Campus 20.02.2011
Friendship
Friendship seemed to be ordinary
Until I met you!
Because
In this world people show
Fake love and affection!!
No genuineness
Talk with mere sugar coated tongue
With some expectations…
To fulfill their own benefits..
But you!!!
Without expectation showed only
Immaculate affection..
Frankness and intimacy
Above all your altruistic nature..
Easy going attitude well refined mannerism
Such sterling qualities enticed me a lot
Indeed made me astound!!
These not flattering words
Came from the bottom of my heart
Dear my friend!!
Languages. or .Distances
Races..or Religions
Even changes in the age
Can never decide a true friendship
I realized everything after meeting you!!
Friendship seemed to be ordinary
Until I met you!
Because
In this world people show
Fake love and affection!!
No genuineness
Talk with mere sugar coated tongue
With some expectations…
To fulfill their own benefits..
But you!!!
Without expectation showed only
Immaculate affection..
Frankness and intimacy
Above all your altruistic nature..
Easy going attitude well refined mannerism
Such sterling qualities enticed me a lot
Indeed made me astound!!
These not flattering words
Came from the bottom of my heart
Dear my friend!!
Languages. or .Distances
Races..or Religions
Even changes in the age
Can never decide a true friendship
I realized everything after meeting you!!
Friday, February 18, 2011
Healthy balance in scheduling our duties and responsibilities Subajana Jeyaseelan, Lecturer, ELTU
“Our costliest expenditure is time…” – Theophrastus
Introduction
In this fast moving busy world, each and everyone struggles to maintain good/better time management. We all are tightened and programmed with so many duties and responsibilities to do one after the other like a chain. So, how can we lead a happy life without keeping ourselves away from among such busy schedules? Has anyone thought of it? We, Sri Lankans do have poor time management practice, it is a general truth. We, Sri Lankans do not bother of wasting time on hanging on roads, gossiping, talking rubbish and giving no priority for promoting productive things, doing nothing practically and so on. Sri Lankans do not think or pre-plan what they do really want to do- whether it is important and urgent or important and not urgent. However, the general practice of our people is doing not important and not urgent; as a result, they fail to achieve important and urgent things to be done. This mentality of people leads the country to lag behind in the ranks of world progress.
However, all of us have only 24 hours a day which is quite valuable and manageable if it is intelligently planned. By having planned our schedules and duties with the proper time management, there would not be any clash between work life and home life. People, who have the practice of poor time management end in messing up; this habit leads them to embrace the failure in every step of their attempts. Even in our day to day life, we can observe thousands and thousands of people saying ‘I have no time to do this and that.’ This type of statements reveals their poor ability in managing the time. Such people would face difficulty in maintaining a healthy balance between their time in the office and at home. Ultimately, this causes to create problems in families as well as in offices.
Hence, this can be solved with a simple time management plan. In fact, it is not the problem with time, but with lacking knowledge in planning and organizing skill. To progress in life, one should learn to use time more shrewdly. Once, we get to know how to manage our time, we surely gain control.
Many a people in our country, pose them, showing that they are always busy and engaged with many tasks and innumerable busy schedules for getting the image as a big shot in the community. Even students, fail to keep up timing and maintain punctuality. Therefore, we should concentrate on results, not on being busy. Effective time management helps us to choose what to work on and when.
For this reason, people, who use these techniques routinely, are the highest achievers in all walks of life, from education to business and from sport to public service. If we use these skills well, then we will be able to function effectively, even under intense pressure. Many people spend their days in a frenzy of activity, but achieve very little or nothing because they are not concentrating on the right things at right time.
In our normal routine, typically, we all spend eight hours a day in the office, plus an additional couple of hours for the daily commute. This leaves a very small amount of time for the family. If you want to spend more hours at home, all we need to do is make a few modifications to our work schedule, and make an objective assessment of our goals in life.
The 80:20 Rule or Pareto’s Principle
Those who are in the field of economics might have heard of Pareto’s Principle; others may or may not. Then, what is 80:20 rule? Why is it named as Pareto’s principle?
Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian, who formed a mathematical formula to describe the unequal distribution of wealth in his nation, observing that the twenty percent of the people owned eighty percent of the wealth in 1906. Many of them observed the similar phenomenon in their own areas of expertise. Later on in 1940, Quality Management pioneer, Dr. Joseph M. Juran named this 80/20 Rule to Pareto’s Principle or Law which is an effective tool to help everyone to manage effectively.
This rule tells that typically 80% of unfocussed effort generates only 20% of results. The remaining 80% of results are achieved with only 20% of the effort. The 80/20 Rule means that in anything a few (20 percent) are vital and many (80 percent) are trivial. The ratio is not always 80:20, but it is considered as a norm in many areas. Twenty percent of something always is responsible for 80 percent of the results, known as Pareto's Principle or the 80/20 Rule.
Also one should optimize his or her effort to ensure that he or she who concentrate as much of his or her time and energy as possible on the high payoff tasks. So, managing the time encourages everyone to achieve their greatest targets.
This Rule can be applied to almost anything, from the science of management to the physical world. However, the theory is also flawed; it overlooks the fact that 80 percent of your time should be spent doing what is really important. The Rule should serve as a daily reminder to focus 80 percent of your time and energy on the 20 percent of you work that is really important.
The Basic factors of Time Management
Many of us have spent years and years without proper time management, so immediately putting this into practice is not that an easier task. So it cannot be a “quick fix’’ or an overnight solution. This needs enough patience to put ourselves on track. This is a step- by-step, powerful process that will change our working life better. Here are some of the important targeted points to be considered for effective time management:
Goal Setting
To start managing time effectively, we need to set goals. When a person travels, he /she should know the destination; then only he/she can get down at the correct place. Likewise when we plan only, we can figure out what exactly needs to be done, in what order. Without proper goal setting, we'll fritter or waste our time on a confusion of conflicting priorities.
In our normal life people tend to neglect goal setting and planning because it requires time and effort. They are not serious enough and what they fail to consider is that a little time and effort put in now saves an enormous amount of time, effort or frustration in the future. There is a proverb saying Stitch in time saves nine.
Prioritization:
To handle the proper time management, we should develop the habit of prioritizing our needs. Without it, though we may work very hard, we will not be achieving the results we desire because what we are working on is not of strategic importance.
Most people have a "to-do" list of some sort but the problem is that many of these lists are just a collection of things. There is no system or order in the list and, as a result, the work they do is just as unstructured. So how do you work on To Do List tasks – top down or bottom up? the easiest to the hardest?
So if they have the properly organized ‘’to-do ‘’ list, once they complete their work, they can mark it off on their schedule of tasks. It gives them a peace of mind and the encouragement to continue on with the day. To work efficiently, we need to work on the most important, highest value tasks. Use a long-term calendar to record test dates, important due dates, things that we need to plan ahead for. We do not wait for the eleventh hour to finish the things.
Motivation:
Managing our time will give us more free time. This way we would not get caught scrambling to get something critical done as the deadline approaches. One of the most difficult parts of time management is motivating us to follow our scheduled plan. So reward yourself for accomplishing your goals. Often times, people get stuck in their jobs and are unable to get out even when they are not truly happy. For this reason, it is essential that you pause from time to time and re-evaluate. This will ensure the maintenance of a healthy balance between your career and family.
Managing Interruptions:
Budgeting our time in advance is very indispensable. Having a plan and knowing how to prioritize it is one thing. The next issue is, knowing what to do to minimize the interruptions we face during our day. It is widely recognized that managers and hierarchically top level officers get very little uninterrupted time to work on their priority tasks. There are phone calls, information requests, questions from employees, and a whole host of events that crop up unexpectedly. Some do need to be dealt with immediately, but others need to be managed. However, some jobs need you to be available for people when they need help – interruption is a natural and necessary part of life. Though such interruptions cannot be indelible, shrewdly managing such interruptions sticking the time management is the clandestine of success of a person as well as an institution.
Procrastination
We Srilankans are well known for procrastinating things because our schedules get struck and things get accumulated. Procrastination is a thief of progress; it is a proverb which says not to put-off the things for tomorrow, instead, do it today. "I'll do it later" has led to the downfall of many a good employee. After too many "laters", the work piles up so high that any task seems insurmountable. Procrastination is as tempting as it is deadly.
For instance, when the students were given assignments and the deadlines for the submissions, most of our students, except a few, wait for the eleventh hour though they were given even a month of time. This clearly shows their poor time management, lacking knowledge in prioritizing things, poor motivation and the negligence of the validity of time.
Learn to Say ‘No’
Mostly people put unnecessary burdens over their head in projects and other commitments simply because they do not have the heart to say no to a client or a friend in need. However, if you are so lenient, you will no longer be able to perform to the best of your abilities and this will damage the quality of your results.
Before accepting any task or making any commitment, you first need to assess whether you are actually still capable of fulfilling your responsibilities. If your schedule is already jam-packed, all you have to do is say no.
Conclusion
Time management is an essential skill that helps us keep our work under control, at the same time that it helps keep us stress free. We would all love to have an extra couple of hours every day. Since they practically seems to be impossible, we need to work smarter on things that have the highest priority, and then creating a schedule that reflects our work and personal priorities
With this in place, we can work in a focused and effective way, and really start achieving those goals, dreams and ambitions we care so much about .So time management helps you to be a better performing person. We always expect the unexpected and must be flexible but still accomplish what needs to be done. Definitely, we can succeed in our lives. Students, you are the heroes of tomorrow so effective time management is very essential for your successful life.
References:
Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com.
www.SuperSonicSuccess.com.
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_00.htm
http://www.google.lk/search?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&channel=s&hl=en&source=hp&q=quotes+related+with+time+manageme
ttp://www.simplejoe.com/books-time-management.htm
https://www.mindtools.com/cgi-bin/sgx2/shop.cgi?page=MakeTimeForSuccess-PTD.htm
http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Why-Do-You-Need-To-Be-Learning-Time-Management-Skills-/729930
http://www.steelmusichall.com/keeping-a-healthy-balance-between-work-and-family/
Accessed on 14.1.11
http://management.about.com/cs/generalmanagement/a/Pareto081202.htm
-accessed on 16.1.11
Adair, J. (1988) Effective time management: How to save time and spend it wisely, London: Pan Books.
D.N. Aloysius/Lecturer
18.02.2011
Introduction
In this fast moving busy world, each and everyone struggles to maintain good/better time management. We all are tightened and programmed with so many duties and responsibilities to do one after the other like a chain. So, how can we lead a happy life without keeping ourselves away from among such busy schedules? Has anyone thought of it? We, Sri Lankans do have poor time management practice, it is a general truth. We, Sri Lankans do not bother of wasting time on hanging on roads, gossiping, talking rubbish and giving no priority for promoting productive things, doing nothing practically and so on. Sri Lankans do not think or pre-plan what they do really want to do- whether it is important and urgent or important and not urgent. However, the general practice of our people is doing not important and not urgent; as a result, they fail to achieve important and urgent things to be done. This mentality of people leads the country to lag behind in the ranks of world progress.
However, all of us have only 24 hours a day which is quite valuable and manageable if it is intelligently planned. By having planned our schedules and duties with the proper time management, there would not be any clash between work life and home life. People, who have the practice of poor time management end in messing up; this habit leads them to embrace the failure in every step of their attempts. Even in our day to day life, we can observe thousands and thousands of people saying ‘I have no time to do this and that.’ This type of statements reveals their poor ability in managing the time. Such people would face difficulty in maintaining a healthy balance between their time in the office and at home. Ultimately, this causes to create problems in families as well as in offices.
Hence, this can be solved with a simple time management plan. In fact, it is not the problem with time, but with lacking knowledge in planning and organizing skill. To progress in life, one should learn to use time more shrewdly. Once, we get to know how to manage our time, we surely gain control.
Many a people in our country, pose them, showing that they are always busy and engaged with many tasks and innumerable busy schedules for getting the image as a big shot in the community. Even students, fail to keep up timing and maintain punctuality. Therefore, we should concentrate on results, not on being busy. Effective time management helps us to choose what to work on and when.
For this reason, people, who use these techniques routinely, are the highest achievers in all walks of life, from education to business and from sport to public service. If we use these skills well, then we will be able to function effectively, even under intense pressure. Many people spend their days in a frenzy of activity, but achieve very little or nothing because they are not concentrating on the right things at right time.
In our normal routine, typically, we all spend eight hours a day in the office, plus an additional couple of hours for the daily commute. This leaves a very small amount of time for the family. If you want to spend more hours at home, all we need to do is make a few modifications to our work schedule, and make an objective assessment of our goals in life.
The 80:20 Rule or Pareto’s Principle
Those who are in the field of economics might have heard of Pareto’s Principle; others may or may not. Then, what is 80:20 rule? Why is it named as Pareto’s principle?
Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian, who formed a mathematical formula to describe the unequal distribution of wealth in his nation, observing that the twenty percent of the people owned eighty percent of the wealth in 1906. Many of them observed the similar phenomenon in their own areas of expertise. Later on in 1940, Quality Management pioneer, Dr. Joseph M. Juran named this 80/20 Rule to Pareto’s Principle or Law which is an effective tool to help everyone to manage effectively.
This rule tells that typically 80% of unfocussed effort generates only 20% of results. The remaining 80% of results are achieved with only 20% of the effort. The 80/20 Rule means that in anything a few (20 percent) are vital and many (80 percent) are trivial. The ratio is not always 80:20, but it is considered as a norm in many areas. Twenty percent of something always is responsible for 80 percent of the results, known as Pareto's Principle or the 80/20 Rule.
Also one should optimize his or her effort to ensure that he or she who concentrate as much of his or her time and energy as possible on the high payoff tasks. So, managing the time encourages everyone to achieve their greatest targets.
This Rule can be applied to almost anything, from the science of management to the physical world. However, the theory is also flawed; it overlooks the fact that 80 percent of your time should be spent doing what is really important. The Rule should serve as a daily reminder to focus 80 percent of your time and energy on the 20 percent of you work that is really important.
The Basic factors of Time Management
Many of us have spent years and years without proper time management, so immediately putting this into practice is not that an easier task. So it cannot be a “quick fix’’ or an overnight solution. This needs enough patience to put ourselves on track. This is a step- by-step, powerful process that will change our working life better. Here are some of the important targeted points to be considered for effective time management:
Goal Setting
To start managing time effectively, we need to set goals. When a person travels, he /she should know the destination; then only he/she can get down at the correct place. Likewise when we plan only, we can figure out what exactly needs to be done, in what order. Without proper goal setting, we'll fritter or waste our time on a confusion of conflicting priorities.
In our normal life people tend to neglect goal setting and planning because it requires time and effort. They are not serious enough and what they fail to consider is that a little time and effort put in now saves an enormous amount of time, effort or frustration in the future. There is a proverb saying Stitch in time saves nine.
Prioritization:
To handle the proper time management, we should develop the habit of prioritizing our needs. Without it, though we may work very hard, we will not be achieving the results we desire because what we are working on is not of strategic importance.
Most people have a "to-do" list of some sort but the problem is that many of these lists are just a collection of things. There is no system or order in the list and, as a result, the work they do is just as unstructured. So how do you work on To Do List tasks – top down or bottom up? the easiest to the hardest?
So if they have the properly organized ‘’to-do ‘’ list, once they complete their work, they can mark it off on their schedule of tasks. It gives them a peace of mind and the encouragement to continue on with the day. To work efficiently, we need to work on the most important, highest value tasks. Use a long-term calendar to record test dates, important due dates, things that we need to plan ahead for. We do not wait for the eleventh hour to finish the things.
Motivation:
Managing our time will give us more free time. This way we would not get caught scrambling to get something critical done as the deadline approaches. One of the most difficult parts of time management is motivating us to follow our scheduled plan. So reward yourself for accomplishing your goals. Often times, people get stuck in their jobs and are unable to get out even when they are not truly happy. For this reason, it is essential that you pause from time to time and re-evaluate. This will ensure the maintenance of a healthy balance between your career and family.
Managing Interruptions:
Budgeting our time in advance is very indispensable. Having a plan and knowing how to prioritize it is one thing. The next issue is, knowing what to do to minimize the interruptions we face during our day. It is widely recognized that managers and hierarchically top level officers get very little uninterrupted time to work on their priority tasks. There are phone calls, information requests, questions from employees, and a whole host of events that crop up unexpectedly. Some do need to be dealt with immediately, but others need to be managed. However, some jobs need you to be available for people when they need help – interruption is a natural and necessary part of life. Though such interruptions cannot be indelible, shrewdly managing such interruptions sticking the time management is the clandestine of success of a person as well as an institution.
Procrastination
We Srilankans are well known for procrastinating things because our schedules get struck and things get accumulated. Procrastination is a thief of progress; it is a proverb which says not to put-off the things for tomorrow, instead, do it today. "I'll do it later" has led to the downfall of many a good employee. After too many "laters", the work piles up so high that any task seems insurmountable. Procrastination is as tempting as it is deadly.
For instance, when the students were given assignments and the deadlines for the submissions, most of our students, except a few, wait for the eleventh hour though they were given even a month of time. This clearly shows their poor time management, lacking knowledge in prioritizing things, poor motivation and the negligence of the validity of time.
Learn to Say ‘No’
Mostly people put unnecessary burdens over their head in projects and other commitments simply because they do not have the heart to say no to a client or a friend in need. However, if you are so lenient, you will no longer be able to perform to the best of your abilities and this will damage the quality of your results.
Before accepting any task or making any commitment, you first need to assess whether you are actually still capable of fulfilling your responsibilities. If your schedule is already jam-packed, all you have to do is say no.
Conclusion
Time management is an essential skill that helps us keep our work under control, at the same time that it helps keep us stress free. We would all love to have an extra couple of hours every day. Since they practically seems to be impossible, we need to work smarter on things that have the highest priority, and then creating a schedule that reflects our work and personal priorities
With this in place, we can work in a focused and effective way, and really start achieving those goals, dreams and ambitions we care so much about .So time management helps you to be a better performing person. We always expect the unexpected and must be flexible but still accomplish what needs to be done. Definitely, we can succeed in our lives. Students, you are the heroes of tomorrow so effective time management is very essential for your successful life.
References:
Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com.
www.SuperSonicSuccess.com.
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_00.htm
http://www.google.lk/search?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&channel=s&hl=en&source=hp&q=quotes+related+with+time+manageme
ttp://www.simplejoe.com/books-time-management.htm
https://www.mindtools.com/cgi-bin/sgx2/shop.cgi?page=MakeTimeForSuccess-PTD.htm
http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Why-Do-You-Need-To-Be-Learning-Time-Management-Skills-/729930
http://www.steelmusichall.com/keeping-a-healthy-balance-between-work-and-family/
Accessed on 14.1.11
http://management.about.com/cs/generalmanagement/a/Pareto081202.htm
-accessed on 16.1.11
Adair, J. (1988) Effective time management: How to save time and spend it wisely, London: Pan Books.
D.N. Aloysius/Lecturer
18.02.2011
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