We spend at work at least one third of our daily allowance. Why allowance? From everything we have available in life, time is the only thing we can’t get more or even reuse some at our will. Nope, not even Elon Musk can do that. At least not for now.
And we all know it.
Nobody comes into adulthood not knowing life is in some extent very short and our time here limited. No matter how educated we are, how successful, how much we care about our health, body, food or sleep. One day it all ends.
And we all know it.
Why are we doing so many things we don’t want to then?
Budgeting is in our blood
It is funny how much we can budget for our spending. Holidays, new clothes, a new car or a house. We know how much we make, how much we have and try to make the most of it. At least the most of us.
We know of the limits of our budget and find it essential to plan the future.
With budgeting for the time, we are at best oblivious though. At worst completely ignorant.
Have you ever regretted watching a stupid movie? What was your first though? I guess something along “I could have rather gone for a beer!”, or “I should have rather read a book I keep postponing for ages.”
We can see some obvious alternatives for time wasted right away.
Why don’t we have the same thoughts before we waste it though?
Sure, nobody knows how bad a movie will be.
Do we have to try every second movie that comes to the cinemas though?
We never buy a car and then think about alternatives or other stuff we need to pay for. No matter how well off we are, we give it a thought at least. Unless we grow reckless or money has no real value for us.
So, why don’t we do the same with the only currency we can’t make no matter how clever and good we are?
The problem is our status quo
The problem is, if we accept what we have is the best and ignore the other possibilities we are not budgeting. We are wasting our allowance. There is no second chance in life in this matter.
Making the most of our time should not be a possibility but our obligation.
Challenging the status quo should be our daily bread. Not for the sake of fighting everyone and everything. I am not talking about vanity attempts to fight the entire world here. What I mean is challenging decisions that might seem great at some point of our life but does not make us happy later on.
One example for all.
In my entire life, and I am not the youngest man anymore, I’ve never met a person who loves commuting, waiting, queueing or sitting in the office.
I’ve met and worked with plenty of people who love office life — being out of the house where kids cry, folks shout at each other or the partner demands something every hour.
None of these people when being asked love commuting or being in the office per se.
If you ask anyone whether they would mind to have the office 5 minutes walk distance or even work from a private place close to their house the most of them say yes.
In the same breath they also say, that would not work for them though. Why not? As Lady Gaga put it — “givin’ me a million reasons”.
Is it so hard to imagine or even accept there are different ways for doing things in life?
Why would not we already be doing something better if we could? Because it is easier to push it away from our mind and keep the status quo rather than challenge it.
And there it is.
Imagine. Instead of being on a bus every morning for 20 minutes and 20 minutes on your way back you sit and read. Or write. Or learn a few Spanish words.
In a year it gives you 160 hours for your disposal. Or, 20 working days. Yes, twenty-two. One full month of your work. What would you be able to achieve in one free month if given to you now? I bet a lot!
If budgeting for money is a second nature for you, sit down and start planning, comparing and budgeting for your time now too.
Perhaps you don’t know what could you do with all free time you could get. Perhaps you don’t see the way of changing anything in your life.
It all starts at the beginning though.
Unless you know what you are losing or what you could get, nothing is forcing you to think and change anything.
If you know that refusing to buy a large cappuccino at Starbucks each morning allows you to go for a wonderful round trip to Paris once a year, you have a plan. A road map to your desire. Without such budgeting you do not understand how achievable it is and how to get there.
The same applies for time. Unless you know what is available to you and how to get there, you change nothing.
It is your turn now. Sit down and think. What is it what you ever wanted but never had a spare time for? Sit down and start budgeting. What time waste could you cut down each day? How much could you accumulate in a week? A month?
Surprised with even the first findings? I bet!
It’s your turn now. Your time is ticking off every day. Give it your best!
