Time is the most valuable thing you have to offer in this world.  Unlike money, it’s something you can never get back.  How you choose to spend your time each day is extremely important.  Until people treat their time like money, they will continue to waste it away.  I want you to get into the habit of budgeting your time. Imagine that your “things to do” list is like a grocery list.  What will you purchase, how much will it cost, what is priority, and who are you buying it for?

1. Create a list of what you’ll spend time on.

How you choose to spend your time everyday should be clear. The moment you wake up, you should be aware of where your time will be spent.  Let’s pretend your grocery list has the following:

• Bread
• Eggs
• Tomatoes
• Oreos
• Milk
• Bacon
• Lettuce
• Asparagus
• Ground Turkey
• Boneless Chicken Breast
• Uncle Ben’s Rice

Now create a list of what you “have” to do for the day:

• Exercise
• Morning Routine (breakfast, shower, etc)
• Check & Respond to Emails
• Design first draft of eBook
• Blog
• Create a Brochure
• Finalize Logo Design
• Grab Drinks with friends
• Get Your Nails Done
• Get a Hair Cut
• Girl Talk with your best friend

Just like you create your grocery list prior to going to the store, you should create your things to do list before you begin your busy day.  I recommend creating your list the night before or in the morning if you’ve set aside time for that. Monday mornings are usually when I create a tentative schedule for my week.

2. Create a list of how much time will be spent.

So let’s go back to our grocery list.  Let’s say you have a $35 budget for today’s trip to the grocery store.

• Bread ($2)
• Eggs ($3)
• Tomatoes ($2)
• Oreos ($4)
• Milk ($3.50)
• Bacon ($2.50)
• Lettuce ($2)
• Asparagus ($3)
• Ground Turkey ($8)
• Boneless Chicken Breast ($10)
• Uncle Ben’s Rice ($4)

Total Cost: $44.00

Now let’s pretend you start your day at 8 a.m. and you have 12 hours to dedicate to your day before you wind down.
12 hours = 720 minutes.

• Exercise (60 min)
• Morning routine (90 min)
• Check  & Respond to Emails (50 min)
• Design first draft of eBook (180 min)
• Blog (60 min)
• Create a Brochure (120 min)
• Finalize Logo Design (60 min)
• Grab Drinks with friends (120 min)
• Get Your Nails Done (60 min)
• Get a Hair Cut (45 min)
• Girl Talk with your best friend (90 min)

Total Cost: 935 minutes (15 hours 35 min)

3. Prioritize your list

Sometimes, you’re not going to be able to have extra money for the milk and Oreos you were craving.  It’s horrible, I know.  But that’s what being an adult is about; eating chicken breast with asparagus instead of milk and Oreos for lunch.  Looks like you’ll also have to wait until next week to make burritos, too.  Prioritize how you should be spending your time and money. Your best friend might have to hit the gym with you in the morning if she has something important she wants to talk about. The margaritas might have to wait until Saturday evening when you don’t have a project due.

Another option instead of completely dismissing something off your list, is to reduce the amount spend.  I could get 1lb of ground turkey and 1 packet of Uncle Ben’s Rice to fit within my budget.  I could also cut down girl talk to about 45 minutes.

4. Learn to say no.

When you understand the importance of prioritizing, you know that every once in a while you’ll have to say no to Oreos and margaritas.  More importantly, when you offer valuable services, your friends + family may try to benefit from them for free. I love my friends and family dearly, but I (and they) have to respect my time. Imagine if your mom asked you to buy her a $155 rug and then your best friend asked to borrow $60 for new shoes. Your money is being spent on things that benefit the other person more than it benefits you! The same goes for your time. If you’re charging $50/hour for your services, every time your cousin calls to chat about her boyfriend problems in the middle of the workday, you’ve “spent” about $75 of your time entertaining her for an hour and a half.

This is the difference between being busy and productive. Being busy is wasting time, being productive is getting a return on your time spent.

5. Identify your spending habits.

Friends and family aren’t the only reason you’re not getting things done on time or “within budget”. I know you spent 3 hours in bed watching the last season of Dexter on Netflix.  I’m guilty of it, too.  That’s not okay, though.  If you have to discipline yourself to 3 hours/week of Netflix (and not all in the same day), do so.  We all have things we want to indulge in, but it’s all about moderation. Now this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t buy your mom nice things. This also doesn’t mean your friends shouldn’t feel like they can come to you for advice.  But your time (and money) should always be respected.

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