⏱️ on spending vs. investing time

read time: 4 minutes

The biggest mistake you make in life is you think you have time.

We’re all guilty of it, myself included.

We all know the feeling. Wake up, hit snooze a few times, check your phone, and then realize an hour has passed and you haven’t even gotten out of bed.

I know the feeling well. Most weeks I’ll have at least one day where I look back astonished at how poorly I spent my time.

It’s the biggest mistake we all make.

Your time is the only thing that you will never have more of.

You see, most of your life you accumulate things, like…

• money

• experience

• friends

• skills

• hobbies

But time?

Your time is like a ticking bomb. Every day, you’re losing precious hours, and we live in the age of distraction.

Start seeing your time for what it is: your most valuable asset.

The key to reframing your perspective on time is to zoom out.

When you’re young, you think you have all the time in the world.

But the reality is our world has never been more distracted.

Our lives are so saturated with information and connectivity and everything “instant” that we’re losing our focus.

And when we lose our focus, we waste our most valuable asset: our time.

Sooner or later, you’ll wake up and look back at the years that have passed, astonished at how much time has passed and how little your life has changed.

So do yourself a favour.

Sit down on your bed tonight and make a note of how you spent your time today.

Be as specific as possible (and be honest).

(Chances are if you don’t know the answers, your daily screen time report will tell you all you need to know.)

The first time I did this it felt like a slap in the face.

It’s easy to think of yourself as a productive, motivated individual… until you see those numbers written down on that sheet of paper.

Take in those numbers. Scary.

The beauty of being young is that small changes in your habits can make huge differences over the next 20 years.

You don’t have to lock yourself up in a room for 6 months and go monk mode.

Find an area where your time is wasted the most, and hatch a plan to reduce it.

Here’s an example.

I realized that most of my wasted time was either in the morning or in the evening… and the common denominator was having my phone in my room.

So, I bought a cheap alarm clock so I could still wake up on time, but now I charge my phone in my living room every night.

Small environment change, big results.

I’m not perfect… I still screw up sometimes. But establishing that standard made a world of difference.

If you don’t want to waste the time you’ve been given, you have to reframe your perspective on it.

Think about it as a game.

When you’re born, you’re given a bank account with $1,000,000.

There are no deposits allowed. You’ll never put more money in.

And every day, money is slowly trickling out of your account.

The only thing you have control over is where it is going, and how that impacts your life.

Time invested compounds. Time spent disappears.

Time invested leads to fulfilment and progress.

Time spent leads to pleasure and cheap dopamine.

Time invested is long-term.

Time spent is short-term.

What does it look like to invest your time?

Well, you’ll never get your time back… but by choosing wisely where your time flows, you create compounding effects in your life for years to come.

Here are a few examples.

1. Invest your time in experiences that shape you

   • More experiences lead to more discernment & wisdom

2. Invest your time in skill acquisition

   • The skills you have often determine the opportunities that come your way

3. Invest your time in long-term relationships

   • The people around you (friends & family) are the greatest strength you have

4. Invest your time into your health

   • You’ll only ever have one body… take care of it

And of course, we’re still human beings.

We’re not meant to be productivity machines 24/7. Make time for the things that bring you joy, even if they’re not always “investments”.

But be careful. It’s never been easier to waste your time as it is today.

Seconds, minutes, hours. Days, months, years.

You’re on the clock, and there’s no going back.

Live wisely!

Your friend,

Lukas (aka @exploromann)