Photo by kojotomoto
I'm an impatient person by nature. At any given moment, I'm somewhere on a perpetual cycle going from focus, to extreme exertion, to burn-out, to complacency, to disgust, and then a doubling down with renewed focus and sense of purpose. I think today I'm somewhere in-between complacency and disgust, mostly because I slept through my alarm clock this morning. During the last doubling down phase, I gained some insights into time management. This isn't the kind you hear people talk about where you cram three days work into one day, and it's not the kind where your only work 4 hours a week. I don't know how to work fast, never have. Rather than being about efficiency, this article is about creating balance with your time.
When it comes to advice, there are three kinds of people out there. There are those who can demonstrate their advice. An example would be a millionaire telling you how to get rich. These are your most authoritative sources. A second kind of person gives you advice, but can in no way, shape, or form demonstrate it successfully. This would be like the homeless man in the South Side of Chicago who told me, "Sometimes you find money, and sometimes money finds you." i.e., you have no control over your success. Although I'm sure this man believed what he was telling me, and in his life it probably had become a self fulfilling prophesy, he had no credibility when it came to making money. The third kind of person is only slightly different than the second. He or she is someone who has good advice because they've done the exact opposite of what they proposed. An example would be the paraplegic who was paralyzed in an accident because they drank alcohol while driving. When they say not to drink and drive, they know what they're talking about. Regrettably, I know about time management, because I'm like the third kind of advice-giver. I have been terrible at managing time, not because I'm lazy or unintentional, but because I ignore one of the three categories below.
INVEST
MAINTAIN
ENJOY
These three categories are the only ways I know to spend time in a meaningful way. I guess if you are a nihilist or masochist, maybe you could find a chink in my logic's armor, but for most of us these three descriptons for how we spend time should be useful. So let me explain them in more detail.
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The word INVEST is synonymous with the word CHANGE in this context. Investing isn't all about 401ks, mutual funds, or the S&P 500. Any time you invest, you are taking time, energy, or money and using them to change your life for the better. By the way, money is just the end product of someone's labor which is another word for time and energy. You take action today so that tomorrow will be different. You may be trying to change you retirement options, so you set aside a portion of your income for mutual fund investing. Or maybe you don't want to pay a mortgage the next 30 years, so you double up your payments each month. These examples in the traditional sense are easy to recognize. What about investing in other areas of your life? Certainly relationships are something we invest in. I remember staying up all night on the phone with my wife when we were first dating. Why did that seem acceptable then and not today after 7 years of marriage? Besides the fact that she and not I had the early class, we were investing in our relationship. If we had stopped going out for several weeks, I'm sure it would have dampened things a bit. Today, if money's tight or we're especially busy, going a month without a night out wouldn't be the end of the world. We have a strong relationship now. But back then it could have jeopardized our future. Another area to invest would be education. Certainly I didn't go to school all these years for fun or just to maintain the status quo. Similarly in music, serious practice is a form of investing. We work on technique, learn new songs, and transpose licks to different keys so that our gigs and, hopefully, our music careers turn out better. Someone once told me that practice was like putting money in the bank.
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The second way we spend our time is when we maintain. To MAINTAIN is synonymous with TO KEEP in this context. These are actions we take to keep the things we want in life. So, if you have a job, even if you dislike it, you probably show up any way, rain or shine. You show up because you need the income and all the things an income affords. If you had 10 million bucks magically appear in your bank account, I dare say you might sleep in Monday morning. We pay our mortgages, so we don't get foreclosed upon. You eat well to keep your health. Your change your oil to keep your car running smoothly. Maintenance is similar to investing in that both are efforts to affect the future. Investing is concerned with major changes and may not manifest for some time. Maintenance usually provides a benefit in the near future and may just serve as insurance against loss of the status quo. Whereas I might invest by learning new songs, I maintain my skills by running through several tunes that I know but haven't played in a while.
Photo by Tom hodgkinson
The third and last category is when we ENJOY something. This one is pretty self-explanatory. You do things you like to do, things that bring you pleasure. All these categories can blur together depending on the context, your mindset, and your purpose. The example I gave about an all night phone call wasn't consciously performed as an investment. At the time, it was something we did intuitively, something we enjoyed. So all these things are interconnected. More on that in a minute. Doing things you enjoy helps you release tension, recharges your batteries, and keeps Johnny from being a dull boy. In the context of music, most musicians choose their profession because they genuinely love music. I think the dream for most of us was like the saying, "Do what you love, and you'll never work a day in your life." If only it were that simple. Most people don't overload on just one category. If you do, it doesn't last long. Total hedonism without any maintenance of the status quo and without any provision for the future can only last days or weeks at the most. Quickly, you run out of money. For most people, the danger lies in ignoring one category and focusing on just two. Let's take a look at some examples.
Photo by Steve jurvetson
INVEST/MAINTAIN- Can you say boring? These people are hyper focused on controlling their lives. Fun for them isn't fun, because it cost too much, it's time that could be spent doing something more productive, and it causes unnecessary anxiety. These people are the proverbial sticks in the mud. They are also the ones who are secret millionaires. They drive the same way to and from work everyday, never retire, never go on vacation, and find lawn care to be a recreation. Fear of loss and even a guilt complex may drive these poor souls.
Photo by weegeebored
INVEST/ENJOY- This is the category that I fall into if I'm not careful. There is a great concern for the future and desire to change one's circumstances, but regular maintenance like taking out the trash, washing dishes, or walking the dog seems like inordinate responsibilities. The avoidance of boredom is of great importance for these people. Often they are cheap skates that push themselves to work hard at changing their life, but then like a yo-yo, cave in to pleasurable vices like food or entertainment. These people have disdain for menial or perfunctory chores like going to work. The desire for freedom and autonomy motivates them. Lacking is proper humility, and often times there is a lack of appreciation for relationships.
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MAINTAIN/ENJOY- This is the category that most Americans fall into. Their lifestyles are typified by the 9 to 5, fast food, and countless hours in front of the TV. I almost mentioned American Idol and Dancing With the Stars, but I'm too afraid of retribution. Oops! Unlike the last two groups, people in this category assert little control over their lives. They usually have consumer debt, perhaps a 401k through their employer, and live for the weekends. These are usually good natured folks, but they often live "lives of quiet desperation" more often than they care to admit.
There are limits to these ideas. First I can't tell you anything about proportions. When I told a friend of mine about this stuff he asked what percent of his time should be spent investing versus maintaining or enjoying. I have no idea. I presume that it must be different for everyone. Also, these convenient categories can't tell you what your purpose is. As a Christian, I believe in a calling over one's life. In other words, I think we are all meant to do specific things, and if we ignore our calling we are trying to jam the square peg through the round hole. No amount of time management will help in this situation.
Lastly, in an idealized grand-unifying theory, it might be possible to find a lifestyle in which investment, maintenance, and enjoyment all run together as one. I certainly have not found this shangri-la, but it seems possible. Maybe you love music, so practicing is fun, helps you maintain your chops, and learning new songs better prepares you for future gigs. That model works well until your grass gets knee high, and your utilities get turned off because you forgot to pay. I wrote all of this and realized that it may come across as judgmental, especially if something I wrote hits close to home. That's not my intention. I wrote this for me as much as much as for anyone else. It's so easy to fall into these traps and live jacked-up lifestyles. I'm hoping this article will help me remember, and just maybe help some like-minded readers.
