Protecting Your Most Precious Asset

Time

Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
Fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your hometown
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way
Tired of lying in the sunshine, staying home to watch the rain
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun

Pink Floyd, Time

Bitcoiners often talk about shifting their time preference from “high” (immediate gratification and impatience which is a hallmark of the fiat world we live in) to “low” (deferred gratification and patience, a long term view which is more in alignment with the Bitcoin ethos). With a lower time preference, there is naturally also a focus on the actions we take in the present and how those will benefit or hurt us in the future. There is therefore a greater sense of consequences of actions and also perhaps a greater appreciation for life’s journey with a lower time preference.

For the past couple of years I have been spending a lot of time thinking about time and how it is perhaps our most precious asset - more valuable indeed than financial assets, real estate, Bitcoin or anything else we possess. We are only given so many years here on earth and we do not know when that time will come to an end. How we use that time matters a lot, not only impacting our own happiness, but also how we can positively impact others, whether family, friends or the larger community. I’m reminded of Habit #2 from Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Successful People: “Begin with the end in mind.” How do you want to be remembered when you are gone? What will your legacy be?

I remember years ago I was not as focused on my time and I found myself on the “hamster wheel” of life: extremely busy but not productive, tired, overweight and unhealthy. As a result, no matter what I did at work or at home, I felt like I was going nowhere or even backwards. I think time management starts with focusing on priorities - what is most important to you? Once you do that, it’s much easier to align your priorities with how you spend your time. In doing so, I have found myself making a very conscious effort to manage my time better both at work and at home. So for this week’s post, I thought I’d share a little about what I have done and how it has helped me preserve my most precious asset.

Work Time

First of all, I keep a “to do” list, but I only write down the most important things that need to get done, so there are rarely more than a handful of things on the list. Keeping a super detailed list can be overwhelming and a shorter list helps you focus on the 20% of activities that account for 80% of the impact (the Pareto Principle which I learned about very early in my career, but was unfortunately rather slow to adopt in practice).

Over the years I have learned that people love meetings and so I make a concerted effort to be in as few meetings as possible. Many times an email or a quick phone call will resolve an issue. I also have a rule that if it requires more than one or two emails to solve a problem, a phone call is necessary or a meeting as a last resort. I am always amazed at long email chains that resemble tennis matches. Also sometimes too many people are invited to a meeting, so instead of having multiple people from my department I just have one person attend and depending on the issue, it may or may not be me.

Being organized is critical and that starts with personal work space. I find that a clean desk is very helpful in keeping me focused. Paper clutter doesn’t help with focused thinking in my view. Also, making time each day to strategize and plan at least one week and sometimes as much as one month ahead has been very helpful for me to stay organized and productive. Having a great team to support me of course makes all that possible, but keeping a watchful eye on upcoming issues and priorities and avoiding crises has a tremendous payback in terms of team morale and productivity.

Ironically, a small amount of time spent strategizing and planning saves a huge amount of time dealing with issues in a crisis mode. A former boss who I admire a lot always liked to say “measure twice, cut once.”

Finally, some of the most productive and important time is spent informally meeting with key members of my team at work in person. In addition to the mentoring opportunities, the ability to gather important information and avoid surprises through informal communication is critical. I enjoy talking about not only the business but the broader macro environment and how it might impact us both personally and professionally as part of these interactions and I enjoy seeing how many different areas of knowledge can coalesce and provide insights that I might not otherwise have had.

Home Time

For me, family is very important and so I place a high priority on time spent with family. Whether its gathering at the dinner table or running errands, I enjoy the opportunity to catch up, especially since my kids are getting older now and those opportunities seem to be fewer and further between as their lives become busier. Probably my favorite way to spend time is on our annual family vacations - these trips while sometimes a bit stressful getting there and back are always ultimately enjoyable experiences and most importantly, provide lasting memories for all of us. Vacations are also a great time to relax, rejuvenate and gain perspective on all things both work and personal.

Health is also a priority for me, so time spent walking or in the gym gets prioritized, along with eating reasonably healthy food and watching my weight.

Continuing education is another priority of mine and this goes back to my days in public accounting where we had to take a minimum amount of classes each year to stay on top of the latest accounting rules. Now I set aside time to read books (mostly business books), I subscribe to a number of email newsletters and also listen to several finance and Bitcoin related podcasts. There’s an amazing amount of quality, free educational content available today. The nice thing about walking or travelling is that’s a great time to catch up on podcasts which can also be a very efficient use of down time.

It’s also very important to find time to relax and refresh, so getting to bed at a reasonable time is important not only for mental health but also physical health (studies have correlated proper sleep with weight management). I stopped using an alarm clock the past couple of years and this has been a tremendous benefit to me. I wake up at about the same time every day and start my day with a lot less stress. A very simple change makes a huge difference.

Projects

I enjoy having projects to work on at home, but I try to limit the number of projects I undertake and try to wrap up one or two before starting a new one. Having too many projects going on at once results in stress and also undermines focus and ultimately the quality of the outcome. I find that getting after things proactively and with a sense of urgency both in my personal and work life helps accomplish more and leaves more time later for the unexpected or just reflection and relaxation.

Sometimes if there are competing projects that are investment or “side hustle” type activities, you need to look at the potential financial payoff to determine where to spend your time. Always look at it like a business and the return should be commensurate with the investment / risk. Anything that requires a great deal of your time needs to provide a very good return, or it may not be worthwhile doing. For example, you may be perfectly capable of managing your own rental property, but why not hire a good property manager to do it for you? For a relatively small amount of money each month, you can stop dealing with clogged toilets and focus on other more profitable activities. There are many examples where getting some help can leverage your time across more projects - you can still control the quality of the outcome without having to do all the work.

While I enjoy having things to do, I no longer seek to be “busy,” but rather I want to be engaged in productive and meaningful work. Being “busy” is hamster wheel stuff and just leaves you stressed out and holds you back from real achievement. Staying focused on priorities, being purposeful in your work and respectful of your and other people’s time is the way.

And you run, and you run to catch up with the sun, but it's sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again
The sun is the same in a relative way, but you're older
Shorter of breath, and one day closer to death
Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way
The time is gone, the song is over, thought I'd something more to say

Pink Floyd, Time

Not financial or legal advice, for entertainment only, do your own homework.  I hope you find this post useful as you chart your personal financial course and Build a Financial Fortress in 2022.  To see all my books on investing and leadership, click here.  

Always remember: freedom, health and positivity!  

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