“Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.”
~Carl Sandburg
For people with busy jobs and lives, it can be easy to feel drained and like you’re spinning your wheels. Similarly, I know many people with plenty of time on their hands who don’t know where their time has gone and why they haven’t accomplished anything. If you feel like you’re spending lots of time but are not happy with the results, complete a time inventory.
People who want to lose weight or get better with their finances do much better when they track their food intake or spending. Similarly, in order to better use your time you should track how you spend it. Be brutally honest (yes those 10 minutes surfing the web do count) and create an inventory of how you spend your time and with whom. If you’re feeling like you don’t have the time to do this exercise, I’m betting that you particularly need to do this. After tracking your time expenditures for a couple days, you will be surprised at how much of your time is spent with people and on activities that drain you instead of ones that nourish you and help create the life you’re seeking.
When you have tracked your time rate the entries using the following helpful rating system that I got from the book The Game - Win Your Life in 90 Days by Serrano Kelley. This simple A-B-C-D rating system is the most useful way I’ve learned of thinking about my time and learning to use it more effectively. Based on the rating system described below rate how you are doing now and then readjust accordingly how and with whom you are spending your time.
What Activities Do You Engage in Most Often?
A Activities are activities that nourish you, such as physical exercise, meditation, prayer, writing in a journal, spending quality time with family and friends, your favorite hobbies (the ones where time just stops for you), etc. You want to do as many of these A Activities as possible.
B Activities are reactionary -- actions engaged in times of crisis. For example, a B Activity is exercising because your doctor told you if you don’t you will die. Your goal should be to eliminate these types of activities, by getting them handled and taken care of earlier (i.e., by doing more A activities).
C Activities are ones that are best handled by others. Over-achievers often find themselves with too many C Activities because they think that they can handle it better by themselves. Others engage in C Activities because they try to do things that are best left to others (e.g., making your kids’ bed when they could be doing it themselves). Delegate these activities.
D Activities are ones that drain your energy. They produce very little and they take away a lot. Examples of D Activities are gossiping, criticizing yourself and others, watching meaningless television, etc. Try to eliminate these activities altogether.
Who Do You Spend The Most Time With?
A Relationships are ones that nourish and restore you. These people also lovingly hold you to a higher standard. Examples of A Relationships are personal coaches, mentors, religious or spiritual leaders (such as rabbis, priests, or spiritual advisors), certain friends and family members, and yourself (yes, you are an A Relationship for you). A Relationships expect you to fulfill your purpose in life and help you to become the person you’re meant to be. These relationships are priority ones for you. Spend most of your time with A People.
B Relationships are ones that tend to maintain the status quo. Friends and family members who don’t encourage or support your growth fall in this category. It is not that they don’t mean well, people fall into B Relationships, because they want to love you as you are. You can transform B Relationships into A Relationships by asking the person to support you in achieving your goals and to help hold you accountable to do so. To use your time more effectively, transform your B Relationships into A Relationships.
C Relationships are the people in your life that pass-through but do not add much value. These are the acquaintances that you barely know. These people do nothing to contribute to your well-being and may also drain your energy, time, and/or other resources. Spend as little time with people in this category as possible.
D Relationships are the people who drain your energy, hurt you, and/or enable your worst habits. This includes the people with whom you gossip and whine. To be more efficient with your time, avoid spending any time at all with these people.
Monick P. Halm, Esq. is the founder of Equilawbrium Career & Life Coaching. As a coach, law of attraction student, Reiki Master, and former lawyer, Monick helps lawyers find true balance, uncover their dreams and pursue their passions. For a complimentary consult, e-mail equilawbrium@gmail.com.
