Time: The Ultimate Currency

In today’s ever demanding, fast paced, rapidly changing world we are always being pulled in many directions at once. We’re faced with constant connectivity, over stimulation, and a relentless focus on speed and efficiency. We face a daily battle splitting us between two important resources: Time and Money.

The value of our time and the value of money has never been more relevant. Both of these resources are finite, and both resources represent different forms of wealth. Money is an emotional, tangible asset that can be accumulated, spent and invested. However, time is intangible, cannot be stock piled, and once spent, cannot not be regained. Finding a balance between these two assets shapes our decisions, priorities, and the overall framework of our lives.

Our time can be broken down into three categories – work, relationships, and recovery.         Focusing on the work category of time, there are different stages of life which gives a different value to our time. At the beginning of a career, you have good health, a good amount of time, but not as much money. Later in your career you accumulate more money, but it’s been traded for time. Now you’re spending more of your time to acquire money. Later in life, as you’re about to retire, the money and time tend to balance out, but it’s at a time when you may not have the health of your youth.

It's possible to bring the imbalance into more of an equilibrium when we practice good time management skills and consciously align how we spend our time with our goals and values.

We often hear time is money, reversing that, and   looking at our money in units of time can help determine the true value of something. Determining value is a skill to develop; start by asking yourself, “am I willing to work the hours necessary for the required sum?” This is where time and money become emotional.

It’s arguable that our time becomes even more valuable the older we get. This is especially true if we have used our time wisely throughout our life. Making good investments with our time, doing things that build our life as well as the lives of others, increases the value of our time.

We currently live in an age where we are surrounded by time saving things, technology and tools that help make our lives easier and more accessible. Even the simplest person has wealth beyond what any previous generation had. Most people have a smart phone these days, an incredible tool that compared to the newest computers of generations past, is quite affordable. While attending college I purchased my first computer in 1984 with 128K memory. Even with the student discount, after purchasing some accessories, an external 2nd drive, a printer, a few programs, and a box of disks the cost was over $5,000. While this new technology saved me time, it can’t hold a flame to the value we get from our most common devices today. This makes us quite rich in time and money.

How we spend our time and the choices we make in spending our money determine the true value of it. Time and money are both invaluable resources, but they need to be managed carefully in order to achieve a balanced and successful life. Time is       irreplaceable, while money can act as a means to provide comfort, opportunities, and freedom. The key lies in finding the balance. These two things work in tandem to create a life that is wealthy in financial terms, as well as personal satisfaction and peace.

Photo 1: Garik Barseghyan