“ Time is money”
Benjamin Franklin
In the busyness of life, it is very easy to imagine that you are being productive with your time, while in actual sense you are wasting your life away. And how you know this is when you don’t have anything to show for the money you have spent, or the hours and days gone.
I don’t know about you, but I find that intentionality goes a long way in making sure I accomplish what I set out to do. So, what are these things that easily make us get sidetracked and lose out on time and investment opportunities, Let’s discuss a few.
1. Mindless TV watching.
I know Television programs can be a good distraction from busy and tough days. When you come home from a busy day you just want to unwind with a cup of your favorite drink and sit in front of the TV flipping through the channels. Have you ever stopped to think of how many hours in a week you are spending in front of the screen, sometimes falling asleep?
Mind you I love a good sitcom just like the next person, but in wealth creation, time is a scarce resource, and it would be important to have a limit for weekly TV watching.
Not only will it free you up to do other things such as learn a new skill, exercise, create a side hustle, you will catch up on a good night’s sleep as well as spend time with family.
In short significantly reduce, or better still completely do away with TV time. And replace it with something worthwhile like learning a new skill on You-tube, exercising, or growing your side hustle idea. You will be amazed at how much you can achieve when you put your time and effort into it.
2. Pursuit of unnecessary things.
You have probably heard of the craze of upgrading gadgets with every new release and buying the latest cars to get the newest number plates. It is however good to understand why you always want to be part of the craze.
Upgrades will always be there, but do you need to have every upgraded phone version? Why do you see the need for this? There could be an underlying issue of impressing the people who are near and dear to you.
If you can afford it well and good, however for the rest of us, a good functional phone, TV, laptop, car etc is all we need. Only upgrade when there is an actual need. And even so, save for the purchase. Otherwise invest your money and work your way to financial freedom.
3. Trying to keep up with your friends.
In a group, you will find different dynamics even among the best of friends. Different earning capabilities, family wealth, and lack among many more differentiating factors. It is wrong for individuals in a group or even in a neighborhood to try and keep up with each other without
appreciating their own constraints. It is essential to living within your means.
And I say this knowing full well that peer pressure is a thing, and yet i’m insisting that there is little to be gained from taking on pressure to keep up with your well-to-do friends. Especially when you must take on debt, that is a no-no for me.
4. Spending money unnecessarily.
There is a habit I used to have that as soon as I start spending Kshs 1,000 even if it is to purchase an item worth Kshs. 50, I would go on a binge and go back home with little to no change. It was like I just needed the excuse to buy the initial item, then bam! It was a free fall.
I had to tame this behavior and mind you it was not easy at all, but it is doable. What helped me was batching purchases. So I had to group all the items I needed to purchase and then make the purchase once. This meant I didn’t hang around with change trying to force a purchase. All the cash I had went to the necessary purchases and that, was that.
5. Social media obsession.
And I get it! I do. I promise you, i so get it.
That nice feeling you get when you hear the ding sound from your phone. Or the vibration showing you have a new message on your feed. But It can be time-consuming if you do not catch
yourself.
On this one, I don’t have a quick fix, and on the real, we need to manage our time around social media especially when we are using it for entertainment only. But even where you are you using it for business, finding yourself going down a rabbit hole is very easy.
One thing that could work well is having set blocked time to be on social media, it could help you and I manage out time well.
Overall while some things are good, moderation is key .
It is also true that sometimes it is better to deny yourself a little for a better tomorrow.
So, I do hope I have convinced you some, to at least indulge in what grows you.
To your growth!