The Time is Yours

Time- the ultimate luxury and ultimate commodity. We are only given so much time; It is up to us to decide how we want to spend our valuable resource.

There will always be people who feel entitled to our time. They will ask you to complete trivial tasks, want you to put all your efforts into serving their cause, or expect you to be available at any given moment. If we are not careful, our time will be stolen and squandered away. We must not let this happen; we must protect our asset and build the life we want to live with the time we have to spend.

 

Just say no

Hey, can you… hey, will you… No. No. If someone is encroaching on your time and you feel the task is unnecessary, say no. You can politely decline and set your needs as a priority. Helping loved-ones and completing tasks essential to your career are important uses of time and should be prioritized. However, keep an eye out for time suckers who take, or attempt to take, your time.

 

 If it isn’t lighting your fire, say goodbye

We bring activities, jobs, and hobbies into our lives with good intention, but sometimes we eventually realize that new “thing” isn’t for us. This next part is hard- saying goodbye to an activity, job, or hobby means saying goodbye to good people. Staying on is not doing anyone a favor; if you’re not engaged both sides lose. Keep the parting amicable and say goodbye to make room in your time budget for items that better suit your goals.

 

Work the now with the vision of tomorrow

In the perfect world, we could go from one venture to another without concern to earn money for rent/mortgage, electric, and food expenses. We do not all live in the “perfect world” scenario, so I see two options: tactfully exit daunting obligations that do not align with your ultimate goal and get a bearable “put food on the table” job (preferably somewhat related to your ultimate career goal). Alternatively, keep at least one current stream of revenue running while you lay the foundation for your next big move.

 

Time like money will make you wonder where it went if you do not tell it where to go. Create a purposeful time budget geared toward taking you where you want to be personally and professionally.

 

“Time is more precious than gold, more precious than diamonds, more precious than oil or any valuable treasures. It is time that we do not have enough of; it is time that causes the war within our hearts, and so we must spend it wisely.”
― Cecelia Ahern, The Gift