#3: Time is $hmoney

“Time is money. Wasted time means wasted money [which] means trouble.” -Shirley Temple

The other day I was thinking about how we go into work everyday, clock-in and clock-out for a paycheck. That paycheck becomes the monetary compensation for our TIME. So what if we lost money in the same way that we earned it… per hour, bi-weekly, or annually? What if for every hour wasted we had to pay somebody $15-50 per hour? I’m no mathematician, but I imagine that would cost us some coins and render us broke.

When it comes to money, we are typically aware of how much we have to spend and invest. So why is it so hard to keep track of our time in the same way? I realized that everyone has the same 24 hours in each day, even Oprah and Beyonce. If we look into some of the most successful people in the world we could easily see how they invested their time to get where they are.

Those who spend their time at work, earn more money. Those who spend their time investing in others, build more relationships. Those who spend their time creating, enjoy control of their craft. Those who spend their time working out, become their own body goals. Those who spend their time in service, create an impact on society. Whether you’re looking for more money, more relationships, more creative freedom, or to have an impact on this world, it all matters how you spend the time you have.

I started to think about my 24hours a little differently. I realized that my time holds real value! The more of it that I wasted, the less I would be able to earn. Coming from someone who always feels like there is not enough hours in the day or enough days in the week, I really wondered how did people do it, manage their time effectively so that they weren’t wasting it binge watching Netflix all day, everyday? More importantly, how could I do it?

In order to get the most out of the 24hours we’re given each day, you have to understand exactly where your time is going. We usually do this in a very vague way which makes it difficult to actually track and manage. But if we want to understand, we have to literally map out the hours we spend sleeping, getting ready, working, commuting, eating, swiping, double-tapping, watching, etc. Call it “Time Budgeting”. People can often say “I don’t have time for this…” meanwhile the thing we really can’t afford is wasted time so this is where we have to start.

I only started reclaiming my time once I grew a respect for it and that of others. I’ve always been a late bird. Always that person showing up out of breath, with a slight attitude because she knew everyone in the room was looking at her crazy, and she didn’t want people to comment on her tardiness. I’d be late to class, late to work, late to church, late to happy hour, and super late on my assignments. It was a disgusting habit and after a while I found that habit representing me in a way I did not want to be represented.

See when you constantly show up late and deliver late, that becomes who you are. It speaks for you and your credibility before anything else. I despise the idea of being discredited because I’m running late, or because I procrastinated all week and now I’m late on submitting something. That representation might not matter to you if you don’t perceive it as a loss. But once you see the value your time has, you’re able to see that Time is Shmoney, or lack thereof.

We get a choice on how our time is spent. We decide how much we spend right away, how much gets invested for the future, and how much we give away. The worst choice is to waste time by letting it slip away. So ask yourself, how are you spending your time? Are you getting the maximum return on your investment? If not, how are you going to allocate your time differently?