We know from things like money that if we spend less of it, we have more of it. It’s such a fundamental concept that applies to basically everything in our lives, so this thinking is likely to creep into our way of looking at time. But, if you think about it, treating time like this makes no sense at all. We’re so used to budgeting our limited resources, we forget that time will be spent, no matter how we budget it.

Every day, you get to use 24 hours. You spend them on your health, family, and income by trading them for money, and many other things. At the end of the day, zero of those hours are left. No matter how hard you try to manage your time, you can’t save some of it for later. All of us always, and without exception, spend the same amount of time every day.

Translating the scarcity of time into a lifestyle

I don’t want to preach, so I’ll document how I apply this to my life. Personally, I’ve derived three core values from this fundamental truth.

1. I don’t give time away for free.
2. I don’t give my time to people who will use it in a way I disapprove of.
3. I optimize my quality of life.

1 – Not giving away time for free

I will gladly spend time with friends and family. I am always happy to take a phone call or meeting at work. Obviously, I won’t charge my friends and family for my attendance, so what do I mean by “not giving time away for free”? I will leave/hang up or decline to take part in advance if I feel that my presence will not have a positive impact but be neutral or negative unless I feel that I will take away something positive from it for myself.

In this case, “free” means more than money. If my presence at the birthday party of a person I care about brings joy to them, I will come. If my attendance at a meeting has no impact on the meeting, I won’t take part in it.

2 – Using my time in a way I disapprove of

Recently, a client wanted a meeting on a topic we had discussed at length previously. Nothing about the circumstances had changed, but they wanted to discuss the matter again, presumably hoping for a different result. I declined the meeting and spent my time productively.

Another use of my time that falls in this category and the previous one is algorithmic, advertising-driven social media. I am far from perfectly disciplined here, but I try to avoid wasting time on platforms such as Threads or by watching YouTube shorts.

3 – Optimizing my quality of life

This last one is often counterintuitive for many people because it means spending more time on things they try to cut short to save time. The single most impactful thing on quality of life is enough and good-quality sleep. Nutrition and exercise follow sleep directly.

Like most people, I get the best quality sleep if I maintain rhythm. That means I try to go to sleep at the same time every day without stressing about it. Instead of going to bed, I listen to audiobooks to avoid getting stuck on my phone scrolling social media. I usually start the audiobook while brushing my teeth and set it to stop 15 minutes after I go to bed. I typically fall asleep before it stops playing.

To eat well, I save money by buying less meat and more legumes. Legume-based dishes are also easier to prepare and digest than meat-based dishes. If you have trouble with one kind of legume, try another. I can’t eat beans without feeling terrible, but I can eat lentils just fine, especially black ones.

I struggled to exercise regularly for years because I felt like I had to. And I know from many other people that they also struggle with this. That was until I found something that was fun for me. Ok, so I’ll preach a little bit here:

Find something fun; don’t do what you are told! Some people love the gym, which is great, but others prefer to go swimming or climbing. Exercise should be something you look forward to. Keep trying new things until you find an activity you’ll miss doing on your rest days!

⌞w⌝