I admit this is just a teaser for a series of articles I have been working on about time management. Summer is tough for me as a work-from-home professional because the kids are home all day and I can lose control of my work day really fast. Interruptions are non-stop and I end up staying up way too late to get it all done which results in a really start the next day, not to mention I’m pretty cranky when I don’t get enough sleep. So here’s the intro…more will follow soon.
Imagine one day you are given $86,400 in cash and you are forced to spend every last penny. Could you do it? Of course you could. Now let’s say this happens every day by automatic deposit into your personal bank account and every day you have to spend this $86,400 that you’ve been given. No saving it – you HAVE to spend it. Think of all the stuff you could buy. Do you want all that stuff? Could you do something more resourceful with all that cash? Donate it to charity? There’s a lot to think about here.
The Time Bank
Let’s check in with reality. No one is going to give us $86,400 to spend every day for the rest of our lives. Sounds nice, but it probably ain’t gonna happen! But you are given 86,400 seconds every day of your life to spend as you please. So what? The difference between time and money is that you can put the money in a savings account, but you cannot save the time. In fact, you cannot “save” time at all. You can only manage it. And realistically, you are not managing time itself, but you are managing how you spend your time. You are managing yourself. Can you do that? Or are you too far out of control? What are you doing with your time? Are 86,400 seconds enough?
Comparisons of time to a bank account are nothing new. In fact, there is an inspirational message about the “Time Bank” which I refer to often and recently it started me thinking more about this subject. Maya Angelou once said “All great achievements require time.” Time is such an important resource in reaching our goals, so I’ve been working on a series of articles about “time” to help determine how to use it to our advantage.
In this series we are going to look at the following aspects of the Time Bank. Links to each subject will be posted as the articles are completed:
- Paying Your Time Bills
- Estimating Your Time Bills
- Budgeting Your Time Bills
- Managing Your Time Credit Card
- Investing For Your Future
- Handling Refunds
1 comment
tobacowgirl
Managing Funds For me, managing funds is more reasonable to me than managing my time. I regularly check my banking account and I know my limits. I’ll be honest, there will be times, where I will mis-calculate my funds. Debit cards are wonderful, but if you do not keep track of every swipe, your doomed!
Anymore, businesses are declining checks, but accpeting credit or debit. Checks are old school, but you can document checks. The key is recording. Our minds, of course, can slip once in awhile, and we need to find ways in reminding ourselves what we did or what we will be doing in the future. Our world is becoming more “convenient,” for us, but is it helping us in the long run? That will depend on you.
Representing a 1st world country, you and I can honestly say we are wasteful. We, sometimes do not know the difference between needs and wants. Money plays a big role. I, myself buy merchandise I can live without. If I saved more money, and invest, my future has more of a vision.
So, invest in your money, and your time. Time management is not one of my strong points, but I know it can be managed. Anything can be managed. Set goals,focus on the future, but plan in the present.