Time Management
Do you ever change your plans? Is it easy for you to manage time? What's the hardest thing about making plans? Are you ever late for anything? Do you think most people can manage their time well?
Vocabulary
  • To backfire (verb) - (of a plan) to have the opposite result from the one you intended.
  • To cope (verb) - to deal successfully with a difficult situation.
  • Agenda (noun) - a list of aims or possible future achievements.
  • Demanding (adj.) - needing a lot of time, attention, or energy
  • Downtime (noun) - time when you relax and do not do very much.
  • To recuperate (verb) - to become well again after an illness; to get back your strength, health, etc.
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Questions and answers
M: Rory, let's talk about time management, shall we? Do you ever change your plans?

R: Oh, constantly. Well, there's an expression about life being what happens when you aren't making plans or something like that. So you have to adapt to change, or that could backfire.

M: What's the hardest thing about making plans?

R: I think that depends on what you're doing. If it's something by yourself, then you have to cope with unexpected changes in your schedule, if it's planning with others, then probably having to deal with conflicting agendas even. So in a nutshell, probably just the change and chaos that's part of life in general really, or coping with it.

M: What's the latest plan you made?

R: Well, this is exciting, actually, because I've organized a trip with some of my friends to the south of Italy for a week. We had to book flights, and, well, booked the hotel rooms as well, around the same time as each other. So that was interesting. As well as finding out about the different kinds of documents we need. It's all taken care of now, though.

M: Is it easy for you to manage time?

R: Usually, though, I suppose the thing is, you're never really done with everything, are you? There's always something to do. So while it's manageable, for lack of a better word, it can be demanding.

M: Do you like being busy?

R: I suppose it helps take your mind off things and focus on, well, the task at hand. Plus it's good to get things done. But I don't like being busy all the time. It's essential to have some downtime to recuperate from, well, from time to time.

M: Are you ever late for anything?

R: On occasion, yes, but it's never hugely so. So maybe like five to 10 minutes or fashionably late as I think it's called. Usually it's not more than that, though, since it's kind of rude to waste other people's time, isn't it?

M: Do you think most people can manage their time well?

R: Unless they're Russian, by and large - yes. Although some people who aren't very orderly probably struggle more than others. Then again, they're usually more creative. So there's a trade off there.

M: Thank you, Rory, for your...
R: Timely answers.

M: Timely answers.

R: Timeless. Well-managed.
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