Vaishalee Thakkar: Time management is a skill

MUMBAI: Saath Nibhaana Saathiya 2 actress Vaishalee Thakkar believes that time management is a skill and it is very important

"Time management is a skill and in today's time, it is very important. When you see people, some are natural with it and they are born with that kind of skill. People like me have to acquire that skill. It all depends on your priority, how you prioritise things in your life, the same way you have to prioritise your time, how much time you will give to what activity of your day, how much to yourself, how much to your own professional and personal lives. All these things need to be very well managed because we are multitaskers and we want to do several things in our life. I would say that I want to achieve a lot. If you have that mindset then time management is your only option. The way you manage your time will show how skilled and well managed you are," she said.

She feels that people in the entertainment industry often complain about the lack of time, especially in television. "In theatre, you travel a lot nationally and internationally, hence the schedule is very hectic,  so everytime you are travelling or moving, you are always occupied with your work," she said.

"Right now, I would say that we are sorted in television because of the fixed number of working hours which they have locked and a lot of us respect that also. We are thankful about that. It is not only about the working hours because after working hours you have your personal and social commitments and other professional commitments and appearances to make. As an actor you have to be dressed well and look alright because sometimes we have to do so many things in a day and that's where you always feel that you are running against the time," she added.

 "Whichever way you see, you always see that you are short of time. If one tries to stream down in a certain way you have to cut a lot of commitments. If you are ready to do that you can have an organised schedule," she said.

Sundays or offs don't feel like a holiday now, thanks to communication tools like mobile phones and social media. We have forgotten where to put a full stop. The same technology which is a boon is a bane too.

"Sundays were something which all of us used to look forward to, especially during our younger times. I know that Sunday used to be a theatre day for us. Me and my brother used to go and watch plays because that was the only day where commercial plays used to be performed in Prithvi and in various other auditoriums in Mumbai. All of us used to enjoy it a lot and look forward to live performances like a magic show, children's play or a socio-comedy," recalled Vaishalee.

"In the end my brother and I used to look forward to a nice dinner and come home and start with a new week. But in today's time Sundays are more like any other day because all the meetings and activities happen on Zoom, so whatever commitment you have which you know you won't be able to do during the week or physically won't be travelling that falls on a Sunday. Even your shopping happens on a Sunday. Bank work is also done on a Sunday, so Sunday is a very busy day I would say. It is busier and more hectic than weekdays," she added.

Once she was reading a very interesting book called The 5 AM Club by Robin Sharma. "It was on my mind for a very long time... to wake up a little earlier than you normally do so that you have some more time and you can organise your day. One tip I would suggest is to wake up early. If you wake up at 7, try waking up at 6 because that 1 hour will make a lot of difference. Second tip I would like to share is to prioritise what is more important. Don't waste your time on unnecessary things and make it a rule that if you are home or if you have a busy week then don't start your day with your mobile phone as it has to have a break time. You have to give yourself a mobile break and you have to communicate with people. I don't check my WhatsApp every 5 minutes, so I tell people that if it's something very important then please call. All my friends and production people know that, and I tell them to wait for 10-15 minutes if it is urgent. If I have not seen my WhatsApp that means I will not see it for the longest time. Therefore, I would say don't be your mobile's slave," she said.

We spend so much time on social media too. Asked if life was simple before social media came into existence, she said, "I would not say that it was simple. I would rather say that social media has been a very important and a useful tool if you are able to manage it and use it in an intelligent way." According to her, when we talk about social media, it is a very intelligent tool so it has to be used in that way.  "The problem with us is that we are using social media very casually. It looks casual because it is simplified and can be used by everybody, but at the same time it can be harmful and very dangerous. We have virtual friends and living in a virtual world can really hamper your personal and professional growth. It is very important that we have human interactions and human connections because socially we are built in that way.

"We can operate on a 50-50 basis depending on how you are using your social media. A lot of people and a lot of actors are using social media correctly and their professional lives have really reformed and revived for some of them."