Are You Spending Time or Investing Time?

Time is the most valuable currency you have. How you spend it today is a good predictor of your life in a few years.

Are you spending it on things that bring you happiness and a quick dopamine hit in the short term, or are you using it to build your desired future?

I recently stumbled across an article that made me sit back and evaluate the activities that I choose to engage in.

It presented the concept of time spent vs. time invested.

After reading it, I had to take a long, hard look at the activities I chose to spend time on.

Today, whenever I agree to do something, I evaluate it using the same criteria. Some may say I'm a little extreme about productivity, so you don't have to take it as seriously as me.

But do take some time to try this week's challenge.

Time Spent

Time spent are activities that bring you happiness and fulfillment in the short term. Although they make you feel great today, they don't contribute toward your bigger life goals.

These include binge-watching a show or spending hours mindlessly scrolling through social media.

There is nothing wrong with doing these activities; as a matter of fact, sometimes you need to unplug. However, if you want to ensure that you continue to grow, you should limit them.

They can consume much of your time and be quick dopamine hits. They heavily affect your discipline and motivation.

I remember finding a medieval show on Netflix and binging it to forget and de-stress. After finishing, it was highly challenging to get back into the swing of things.

I had lost my habits, routines, and momentum.

Does this happen to you too?

Time Invested

These activities could be more fun. They don't give you quick dopamine hits. They require discipline and dedication. Usually, it takes work and more time to see the reward that comes with these small investments of time.

They are harder to be consistent with, and they require choice.

Yet, these snippets of time you spend on building your business, developing your sales skills, completing a challenging workout session, and being fully present with your loved ones improve your life ten folds.

They push your limits and challenge you in the present.

They require you to zoom out and envision the bigger picture. They build your character, relationships, health, and life goals.

It takes work to sit down every Saturday morning to write these blog posts for you. Yet, I know it not only serves you, but more than anything, it helps me. I have become more articulate. My writing skills improve with every post I pump out.

I'm building a small community that shares knowledge and fosters relationships with my readers. So while I don't get a dopamine hit from it, I am growing and improving one blog post at a time.

What activities are you investing your time in? How do they contribute to the bigger picture of your life?

Moving Forward

I'm not telling you to eliminate all the 'spent time activities' in your life. God knows you need time to unwind, step away, and recharge.

But you can be more mindful of the time you spend on these activities, which can only make you happy while engaging in them.

You should evaluate your actions and invest more time in activities that build your life over the long term.

Figure out how much time you dedicate to activities that fall under each category. Evaluate how you could keep a balance.

The balance will not look the same for you as it does for someone else, and that's ok. The point is to encourage you to be more conscious of where you allocate your time.

Questions to ponder this week.

What activities fall under each of these sections?
How much time do you spend engaged in them?
How can you transfer more time from spent activities to invested activities?
What is the ideal ratio for you?

The Challenge:
This week reflect on these questions and develop a plan to help you reach your ideal ratio.

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Share this blog post with someone you care about to remind them to be mindful of their time.

And comment below or shoot me a message to share your results of this week's challenge. I'm always excited to hear from you.