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Evaluating How We Spend Our Time

Evaluating how we spend our time can teach us to shift priorities if needed.

Time is money.

I have always thought of this phrase as meaning that using time in a certain way gets me money. Lately I have come to think of it very differently. I have 2 new interpretations. First, money is time. Second, time IS money.

Money is time

To my mind, money is time means that every penny I spend is an external representation of my time. It took me some of my life time to earn that money. Now I am spending the money, which means I am spending time. Am I buying wisely? Do I care about what I am buying? Is the time I spent to earn the money to acquire the thing worth it? If not, what do I want to do differently?

Time is money

The corollary meaning I see nowadays is that by having time to do what I want, when I want, I am rich. Flush with cash! It reminds me of the wealthy businessman who went on a vacation for the first time in years. He visited a small fishing village, where he saw a fisherman go out in the morning and come back a few hours later, with food to eat and a free afternoon ahead of him. The businessman approached the fisherman and asked him if he would be interested in going into business with him. The businessman explained that by doing so he would catch more fish, sell them to more people further away, get a bigger boat, and work more. The fisherman asked him why he would do it, and the businessman answered that in this way the fisherman would be able to take a vacation. The fisherman responded, “No, thanks. I enjoy my life now, working as much as I want and spending time with my friends and family.” For the fisherman, every day was a vacation.

Every second we choose how to use our time

Are we choosing consciously? Are we choosing wisely? Seconds become minutes, minutes become hours, days, weeks, years, and finally, years become our lifetime. Are we spending our lifetime on what matters most to us?

Suggested Action

This week, track how you spend your time. What goals or commitments take up most of your time? What goals or commitments are not receiving any of our time? Draw an ideal week where you spend time on the goals and commitments that you most value. How do you get from your present state to that ideal state?

Listen to Audio of this Tip: Time is Money 2m56s – http://shinelikethesun.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/TimeisMoney.mp3

(Sometimes hearing the tip causes you to process it differently.)

Just what does this phrase mean, anyway?

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Leanne Cusumano Roque