Of course you have heard the saying, “Time is money” and when it comes to you and your business, it really is the truth. On the money side, we have a pretty good way of measuring it. There are bank statements, credit card statements, cash, bills, etc. It is also easy to understand the equation of money.
The amount of money coming in minus the amount going out, leaves the balance and depending if it is growing or shrinking you get a feel for whether you are winning or losing. In other words, when it comes to money…it is covered. What about when it comes to time? Like money, we have a way to measure it.
There are calendars, clocks, stop watches and if you are old school, sun dials. What about the equation of time? This is where it gets a little tricky. When it comes to money, if at some point you are losing then with some tweaking, chances are you can turn it around. What about when it comes to time?
Time is something that is impossible to get back and yet is something easy enough to waste. There isn’t a nice equation to let you know if you are winning or losing. It is not like there is a time statement at the end of the month telling us what we have or don’t have in the bank. Time simply just marches along.
Back to the saying, “Time is money”. Time is measured in results achieved. Understand, regardless of what you are doing, you are spending time doing it. Time is measured by whatever is important to you; spending time with family, spending time at work, spending time exercising. Whatever is important to you, is where you spend your time.
When it comes to business, where are you spending your time? Are you spending your time doing the things that will make you money or are you spending it doing something else? Are you spending your time generating sales by increasing your market or your product/service offerings, or are you caught in the day to day tasks of being busy.
The only difference between people who are able to accomplish amazing things and those who are simply busy in the busy, is in how they use their time. If you want to accomplish or grow something, you need to protect and use your time, just as you would your money. Ask yourself these questions:
- Would you invest your money in something you knew nothing about? Are you investing your time in things where you could use others more qualified to get it done in a fraction of the time?
- Would you give away your money to everyone who asked for it? Are you giving away your time to everyone who is asking for it?
- Would you buy everything you saw, whether you needed it or not? Are you randomly spending time with little focus on achieving a result?
If you put the effort into having time work for you rather than the other way around, you will be amazed to learn, “time really is money”.