Investing time
Investing time
A shift from spending our time to investing our time is necessary. When we invest in something, we are more thoughtful about costs, returns and risks.
We use the word time in many different contexts, one being a precious resource. Everyone has a finite amount in their lifetime and the same available each day.
We live in a period where time seems to flow and get away from us quicker than it used to. We don't have enough of it in a day to do things we have or even want to do.
It's far easier to spend more of it thinking it will get us to the finish line, all too often seeing the finishing line move further away from us.
And what we do then is often more of the same. We double down and spend even more time and energy, hoping that this time will be different.
We might need to reconsider our strategy.
One is to realize that with any valuable finite resource, a better way forward isn't to spend more of it until it runs out but to invest every bit of it more wisely.
There's a misconception that creativity is fueled by an ever-expanding canvas of possibilities, thoughts and ideas. It turns out that creativity expands when it's exercised within a space with clear limits and boundaries.
We also have Parkinson's law which states, "the work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion."
One might conclude that the more time we allocate to anything, the less creative and efficient we are with it. We need to set better boundaries.
A shift from spending our time to investing our time is necessary. When we invest in something, we are more thoughtful about costs, returns and risks.
As an experiment, what if you gave yourself one less day next week to get that project to the finish line, reach that milestone, and dot your I's and cross your T's? What would you need to do differently?
In many circumstances, with different boundaries, a bit of creativity, and new, more efficient ways of working, we might be surprised by how much more we can get done in a shorter amount of time.
And then we might need to ask ourselves, how do I now want to invest that extra time?
Miguel,
Sparknotion – Think Differently.
