Over the years our parents, teachers, or mentors have spoken these words, in some form or another… “Money isn’t the most important resource, time is.”
And they make sense, so why do we smile and nod and promptly continue to chase money?
Chasing money, earning it, spending it, keeps economies going. While we’re all working so hard to chase that dollar and “Keep up with the Jones’”, years go by and we’re still going around the same merry-go-round making no real progress in our life.
Why? Because money spent is different from time spent, because once used, it’s gone forever. It’s funny, we spend our precious time thinking about the future and re-running the past. But we’re only here now; alive in this moment so choosing to focus on the present moment will help you make the most of your precious time day by day – it’s time spent wisely.
Don’t let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use.
– Earl Nightingale
So how do you manage your time wisely? It’s not about being on time for everything if that’s what you think. It’s about making time for what priorities really matter and the rest will fall into place.
My favourite analogy for this is the “Jar of Life”, the jar represents the finite amount of time in each day, then you have rocks, pebbles and sand all of which make up the priorities in your life.
Leveraging your time
We all have 24 hours in a day, so why does “that person” you know somehow manage to get more work done than others? They have the same amount of hours in the day as us but manage to get so much done.
They have learned how to leverage their time and their secret… It’s simple, the difference is down to how they fill their jar of life and the order they have placed their priorities in life.
- Jar: this is your time available it’s limited and finite (there are only 24 hours in every day)
- Rocks: are the biggest priorities in your life be they people, projects, or deadlines that are important but not urgent
- Pebbles: are the tasks that are urgent and important
- Sand: is the not important but urgent tasks that come your way – keeping you very busy but not making any sort of meaningful progress
Generally what happens without any real prioritisation in our lives is that we end up filling up our jar with sand (all those not important but urgent tasks) that keep us busy. But at the end of the day, there’s no room left for or big rocks in our lives like loved ones, big work projects or businesses.
But look what happens when we put the rock in first, then the pebbles and finally the sand, there’s room for everything. Time well spent can change your life.
So, sit down and make a list of what’s important to you and make sure you tackle the rocks in your jar each morning while you’re fresh.
Time flies – so start now and make the most of it!
That could be booking your seat for TEDxSydney 2019 Special 10th Anniversary event LEGACY!
