Time Machines !

I like this time of year - it offers the perfect opportunity to think about what lies ahead. Aside from contemplating your expanded waistline and depleted bank balance; I suggest you reflect upon how you can make your most precious resource - time, work for you over the next 12 months. As we all know, time is limited and the lack of it gave birth to every skilled working woman's effective answer - multitasking.

The need for clear thinking and organisation has reached an all time high over the last few years. Not only are we judged by our ability to juggle work/home/our contribution to the community and also remain Nigella Lawson delicious - we now have another time vacuum to cater for - our 'on line presence'.

Last year, I devoted many days of my life developing my LinkedIn profile; alongside the plethora of other online necessities - but, the more you participate, the more time you have to spend keeping up to date. So much so that there doesn't seem to be enough time in a day - and there’s the rub. When do you call a halt and concentrate on the real people in the room? I know that I keep up to date in the early evening; whilst also cooking dinner, loading the washing machine and yes it has to be said, probably ignoring everyone with a pulse in the near vicinity.

This does beg the question - why are we all so desperate to be seen online - and is this extraordinarily time consuming; but apparently necessary 'presence', a good thing?

Ofcom, the communications regulator, researched modern online activity recently and found that this almost epidemic form of time swallower, is at an all time high. Over a third of people questioned admitted to being online in the evenings (phew!). Moreover, women have closed the gender gap and are leading the way, particularly in the forum of online social networking. The number of women using social networks, for business and pleasure has grown by 53% over the last year alone.

Social networking is undoubtedly embraced by working women because it is the easiest and perhaps more importantly - the quickest, way to keep in touch; whilst also maintaining some semblance of a work life balance.

Men like socialising on line too, but multitasking women are naturally drawn to this type of relationship building; Twitter is a case in point; limited to 140 characters you can post a quick update in a moment.

I would never suggest that quick tweets and emails should replace face to face contact. There will always be a need for the personal touch; but the internet appears to satisfy our need to be sociable; the astounding growth of online interaction proves this.

Yes of course, the need to keep up to speed with online activity and contending with real life can be exhausting - as with all multitasking it requires commitment and planning - but hey, working women have been excelling at both since time immemoriable.

So, with this in mind you may be tickled to know that according to researchers, we have effectively gained between 5 - 7 hours of free time each week since the 1960's. I have no idea how we have managed to do that and I have no idea where I might find them - but it does give me hope that if I continue to multitask so effectively in 2010 I will have enough time to sit down with a cup of tea and do absolutely nothing - well, until someone sends me a text !

Mary-Jane wishes you all a very happy and healthy New Year.

mary.jane.kingsland@gmail.com