There are only two currencies of life

THERE are in the world only two currencies — money and time. Discussions and forums, worldwide, about money happen in abundance but there are very few discussions about Time Literacy and the intelligent and optimum usage of time.

Yes, surely, from an extreme philosophical perspective there is no such thing as time and it is an abstract, a “construct” of society.

But here on earth and in the marketplace of life and of achieving measurable, tangible successes time, very of often, is money.

And, just like money it must be earned, saved, and employed for personal and organizational growth and development. Unfortunately, like money, it cannot be accumulated and reused as an investment. Through the banks of time we only pass once and this once must be used intelligently and wisely.

Now there are hundreds of opinions on how to use time wisely and productively. The top seven best practices being:

• Have a plan per day, per annum, etc.

Just like if you were to invest a million dollars into a project, you’d need a budget and a forecast of how that money will be utilized.

Plan and budget a given unit of time. It can be a day, a year or even a lifetime. In my point of view, it should be a lifetime.

• Set clear goals that are time bound.

Get crystal-like clarity on what exactly needs to be achieved and focus and work at one project, one task at a time. The idea of multitasking has been debunked a hundred times in recent months. Clarity and focus gives you speed and momentum.

• Optimize technology.

Don’t do by hand, what can be done by a machine unless of course the quality requirements

In your failure lays the wisdom to succeed in your next attempt.

call for organic and low-tech processes. Also do make sure that you don’t drown yourself into technology such that the machine becomes your master. Yes, put that smart phone down if you are picking it up just for the heck of it.

• Do the hardest things first. Eat the frog, says Brian Tracy. If you keep putting aside a job, habitually, because it is hard, dirty, difficult to do or it calls for you to have a paradigm shift but your meta-intelligence and mind says it must be done because it will give a great leverage in the future then, by golly, do it.

Putting up and managing a personal Web site for me was a yucky, slimy, ugly-eyed frog. One day I put my foot down and swallowed the amphibian in one sitting.

• Say no to non-productive spending of time. Ayn Rand said there is a virtue in selfishness. And, yes I agree with her in that selfishness that is not mean, deceiving, greedy, but selfishness that looks after me and the limited, finite amount of the treasure called time that I own.

Take a class in healthy assertiveness and don’t commit yourself to things you cannot do, don’t want to do and do not fit into the big picture of your life, work and higher purpose. Say no to a couple of beers if you’d set that time aside for a jog. Go, jog first!

• Delegate tasks that you don’t need to do personally.

Here’s where you swap money for time. And, here is the most important lesson that I wanted to share with you when I typed in the title of this article.

There are only two currencies of life and they are time and money. The quantity of time is finite but the quality of it can be worth billions if you learn to use it right. The quantity of money circulating in the world in all its forms is still limited and it quality and value is directly proportional to how you use your time.

A wise old man once told me, “Raju, when you are young you chase money and when you age you chase time. Instead if you chose to mind time when you were young you’d ‘automagically’ be wealthy when you grow old.” Since that advice, I have been living out these tips, which are from the contents of my book, The HeART of the CLOSE.

• Don’t fret over failure. Finally, should you fail at budgeting your time, setting the right goals, optimizing resources, and making great choices in life, realize and recognize this — that your idea of success is subjective. In your failure lays the wisdom to succeed in your next attempt.

Fretting over failure is like gunking up and, unconsciously, corroding the time that still lies is in your bank and stays available to you. There, that is my one last tip — fretting is a gross waste of time. One needs to consistently get up and get because lady time, she awaits you to live out your life’s purpose.