Saving Time

Is there any more time than the time you have right now?

Imagine for a minute that we’re riding along in the car together. I turn to you and tell you that I just received ten million dollars, but it was given under the condition that I had to give half of it away—and you’re the lucky recipient.

You’re probably looking at me askance at this point. “What’s the catch?” you question me. “There’s no catch, really.” I answer. You keep pressing. “There’s always a catch,” you say. I give in. “Alright. Yes, there is a catch. You can have the five million dollars, but you HAVE TO USE IT ALL TODAY. You cannot have any left over after today, or you owe the whole thing back to me. Neither may you over-spend it” I continue. “You can spend it in any way you wish. That includes buying new cars, a house, and even some new bling. You can also give it away, you may burn it, or you can invest it if you choose.”

Money is a symbol of energy. That’s all. There are lots of ways to use that energy. However, whether you save or hoard or invest or spend your money seems mostly up to your own discretion.

That seems like a strange story, but it’s a good metaphor. We often use the same phrasing when we talk about time. We say we spend time, or we save time. But time is a funny thing—you can only save it by spending it wisely. That’s the thing about time. You HAVE TO SPEND IT. Your own clock starts ticking at your birth and stops ticking at your death. Did you spend the ticks today the way you wanted to? Because you know— you had no other choice but to spend them.