If there’s one thing folks seem mighty good at wasting, it’s the one thing they can’t make more of—time. We hustle after dollars like they’re gold nuggets, but forget that the real treasure’s ticking away right under our noses. Truth is, you can get rich and still be poor—if you’re bankrupt on time. So pull up a chair, and let’s have ourselves a little talk about how to spend our minutes like they matter—because they do. If you asked any billionaire, most would trade their billions for more time. When you’re facing your eventual death, you’ll remember the fun times, not how much money you made.
1. Time, Not Things, Is the Ultimate Flex
We live in a culture that often measures success in possessions—cars, watches, houses. But the truth? The real sign of wealth is time freedom.
Would you rather have a six-figure salary but be chained to your desk 60 hours a week, or a modest income and the ability to wake up without an alarm, take your kids to school, go for a midday walk, or work on something you love? Everything you own slows you down from achieving something else, and sooner or later you have to pay for things—that takes time. It’s a cycle. Don’t believe me? Go buy a fancy car, a sailboat, or—God forbid—a plane. It isn’t the money that kills you; it’s the time they suck up. The truly wealthy don’t manage their toys that way—they don’t let them steal their time. But unless you’re a billionaire, your hobbies will drain both your time and your wallet. I’m not saying don’t enjoy them, just be aware of the cost and be willing to pay with your time.
When you truly own your time, you own your life. Chasing stuff costs time. But chasing time gives you freedom.
2. The Cost of ‘Yes’
Every “yes” comes with an invisible price tag—it’s a “no” to something else. When we say yes to every meeting, event, or favor, we often end up saying no to rest, focus, or the people who matter most.
Learning to say “no” with grace is one of the most valuable time-saving skills. Boundaries protect your energy, your focus, and your priorities. You don’t need to be available to everyone. You need to be present for the right things.
Spend your time like it’s gold, because it is. Figure out how to multiply yourself—have others do things for you.
3. Return on Time (ROT), Not Just ROI
We all know about return on investment (ROI), but what about ROT—Return on Time?
Time, unlike money, can’t be earned back. So think like an investor: does this activity bring you value, growth, or joy?
Scrolling for 2 hours? Low ROT.
Reading 10 pages of a great book? High ROT.
Spending time learning a skill, exercising, or talking with someone who lifts you up? Extremely high ROT.
It’s not about being productive every minute—it’s about being intentional with your minutes.
Give your time a value. Back when I was a master of the world—and things were a lot cheaper—I would value my time at $100 an hour, when most people’s salary was $10 an hour. If something would take me an hour to do, I was willing to pay someone else to spend two hours doing it—or even one to fix it—if it saved me that hour.
4. Health Is a Time Investment
“We spend our lives chasing riches, then spend those riches trying to live longer—only to realize we did neither.” — Dalai Lama
Think of your health as a time machine—because when you take care of your body and mind, you actually gain time.
How? You gain quality years later in life. You gain energy today to do what you care about. You avoid the time-draining effects of chronic illness, stress, or burnout.
Investing 30 minutes a day into exercise, cooking real food, or getting proper sleep might seem like a luxury—but it’s really buying you back hours, days, even years.
If you don’t make time for wellness now, you may be forced to make time for illness later. If you’re dead or sick, nothing else matters. When a doctor tells you that you have six months to live—that’s not the time to rethink your life.
5. The Time Audit: Where’s It All Going?
Ever wonder where your day went?
A one-week time audit can be a game-changer. Track your time in 30-minute blocks. You’ll quickly spot patterns—time wasted, tasks taking longer than they should, or where you’re spending time out of habit instead of intention.
It’s like looking at a bank statement for your life. Are you investing your time, or just spending it? Make a to-do list with breakdowns. I assign certain days for certain things. A trick I learned is not to overbook myself. If I think I can do eight things in a day, I make the list five. That way I’m not in a hurry, and I complete the tasks correctly the first time—so I don’t have to go back to fix them. Doing it once saves time in the long run.
Awareness is the first step to better choices.
6. Compound Time: Habits That Build Over Years
Time compounds. That’s both the good news and the bad news.
Just like money in an investment account, small daily actions add up over time.
- Read 10 pages a day = 12+ books a year.
- Study a new language 15 minutes a day = fluency in 2 years.
- Practice a skill for 20 minutes = mastery over time.
But the same is true for negative patterns. A little procrastination or distraction every day also adds up—into regret. Be careful of habits that suck up all your time. Watching TV every night, video games, happy hours—these can be time-sucking habits. Not saying don’t do them, just realize how much time you’re spending and place limits. Exercise, for example, is a better habit to invest your time in.
Use the compound effect in your favor. Build habits today that pay off tomorrow.
7. Legacy Thinking: What Will Your Time Say About You?
If someone looked at your calendar and to-do list, would they know what you cared about?
Legacy isn’t just built in big moments—it’s built in the small, repeated choices of how you use your time. Time spent with family. Time spent creating, serving, learning. These are the building blocks of a life that matters.
Live in such a way that your time tells a story worth remembering—because you’ll reach your final chapters quicker than you realize.
Now I don’t know what kind of clock you’re running on, but I do know this—none of us are promised an extra tick. The good news is, we get to choose what we do with the ones we have left. So don’t just kill time. Don’t even try to save it. Spend it—with guts and gumption, on things and people that make your heart beat a little louder. ‘Cause in the end, time spent well is a life lived right.
Most have heard the phrase Carpe Diem—a Latin phrase that translates to “Seize the day.” It comes from a poem by the Roman poet Horace, written around 23 BCE. Ironically, the phrase became especially popular in modern culture after Robin Williams’ character used it in the film Dead Poets Society, urging students to live life boldly and meaningfully.
But few people know the rest of the phrase: Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero—“Seize the day, put very little trust in tomorrow.”
Horace was encouraging people to make the most of the present moment rather than relying too heavily on the uncertain future. It’s essentially an ancient version of “live in the now,” or even “YOLO,” but with more poetic elegance.
For all of you over 35, YOLO stands for “You Only Live Once.” It’s a modern expression that encourages people to take risks and enjoy life. Rapper Drake used it in his 2011 song “The Motto” with the line: “You only live once, that’s the motto… YOLO.”
“The point ain’t just ‘you only live once’—any fool can spend today like tomorrow’s a myth. The real trick is not squandering the present chasing a future you can’t see, and not burning down tomorrow for the sake of a quick thrill today. Life’s a balance, friend. Waste neither, or you’ll be rich in regret and poor in time.” — YNOT
EXTRA CREDIT
Learn to Say No— Not Everyone Deserves Your Time
TIME – The Elastic Trickster
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