Finishing Strong - The Value of Time
Tis the season for giving and receiving gifts. We invest time and resources to make that perfect selection for a friend, colleague or loved on. In your pursuit to finish 4th quarter 2022 strong, consider one of the greatest gifts we receive everyday…. time. 24 hours…1,440 minutes… 86,400 seconds gift wrapped and deposited into our life bank account every day.
Time is the great equalizer. Every person from the famous to ordinary people, receives the same gift every day, a new deposit of 24 hours to invest in that day’s work, play, rest, etc. At the end of the day every account is reset to zero before the next day’s deposit. No carryovers for future use. Additionally, no individual can earn “extra” time. Once time is spent it is gone, never to be reclaimed. We cannot create more time. Pondering these statements should result in gratitude and a desire to better steward the time allotted each day.
An essential component of finishing strong in your 4th quarter of 2022 is directly related to how you use your time. An effective strategy for investing time wisely begins with knowing how you currently use time. For the next three days, inventory/track how you spend your time. Utilize categories such as: rest/sleep, exercise, eating, work, spiritual, reading/learning, commuting, TV, social media, family, etc. The value of a time inventory is like budgeting. We all want to know where our hard-earned money goes. It is essential to know where you spend, invest, save financial resources to minimize or eliminate waste and maximize finances. After completing your time inventory, determine where you can/need to adjust, to trim back, claim and redirect time toward other priorities. For example, if you watch an hour of tv or spend an hour on social media every day, consider cutting that back to 30 minutes and redirect/invest 30 minutes into a higher priority on your list (learning, spending time with your family, physical exercise, etc). Redirecting 30 minutes per day for a full year is the equivalent of 182.5 hours or 7.6 days. Imagine what you could do with that new “time bank account.”
Instead of saying “I don’t have the time,” try saying “it’s not a priority” and see how that feels. “I’m not working on my growth because it’s not a priority.” If it doesn’t sit well, that’s the point. Time is a choice. If we don’t like how we’re spending it, we can choose differently.
In addition to the time inventory strategy, keep a consistent sleep schedule. Another strategy is to identify areas where you could combine activities, thus maximizing time. For example, listening to a podcast or the Bible while exercising. This combination potentially covers your time investment in physical health, learning, spiritual growth, meditating. Another combination, listen to podcast (learning), inspirational messages or scripture (spiritual) during your commute. The very activity of completing a time inventory, capturing pockets of time that you can redirect and having the sense of “more time” to do other things is invigorating, fueling your “finish strong” spirit.
Finishing strong is not all about “full throttle action.” Finishing strong includes reflection, adjustments where needed, understanding how/what you spend your time on, having a relentless focus, engaging in self-care and being aware of how you utilize time.
Invest wisely in the remaining days of your 4th quarter 2022. In addition to making forward progress toward your goals you are setting your pace to kick off 2023 strong. A strong finish in 2022 brings momentum into 2023, as opposed to waiting to get started on January 1, 2023.
Seize the day! Be Relentless! Value Time! Finish Strong!
