Even the ancient scriptures recommend that long hours of work should be interspersed with short breaks for maintaing a high level of productivity.

Limited availability of resources is everybody's concern. Even available resources have limited potential. In this competitive age, everyone is running ahead of time. Each one of us wants to excel. Money has become the only tangible resource, which everyone is eager to earn in plenty, whatever may be the implications. Even sleep is no longer about dreams and nightmares. The quest for money has robbed us of this natural cure for fatigued minds and bodies. According to studies conducted at various hospitals of the country and abroad, a person having disturbed sleep can die of stroke at night or meet with an accident during the daytime.

We have become ignorant about the fact that only human beings have unlimited potential. Therefore, prior to all other facets of management, self-management is most vital. Self-management can not only improve productivity, it can also improve peace, cheerfulness and equanimity.

If one wants to march ahead of others, then ways of managing the self have to be explored. The knowledge contained in our ancient scriptures can be of great use for dealing with the complexities of modern life.

Perhaps we are aware that for any psychological, physiological and biological changes in this universe, the five elements responsible are Prithvi (Earth), Jala (Water), Agni (Light and heat), Vayu (Wind) and Akash (Ether). According to vedic astrology, these elements rule for a period of 6, 12, 18, 24 and 30 minutes respectively. These five elements follow one another in regular sequence. The total cycle of these five elements is 90 minutes. The cycle repeats after every 90 minutes and 16 such cyclical repetition take place in one day.

Modern managers are required to put in long working hours. The theory of five elements gives us a clue that one cannot optimize one's potential through continuous, long hours of work. It is essential to take a gap after every 90 minutes to break the repetitive cycle of the five elements. This gap may be short, say of five minutes, so as not to disturb your concentration. During this break, the mind should not be taxed. Light entertainment like talking to your colleagues, sharing a joke, enjoying light snacks or telephoning someone of your choice may be the right course for this break. This is an excellent tool for self-management. Try this and undoubtedly you will be able to improve your efficiency while keeping your health intact. Work SMART not Hard.