Do You Need More Time in a Day?

[wildambitions]

My original thread was posted within our mastermind group forum when I asked something along the the lines of does anyone know how to make more time in a day, although I was somewhat kidding (who doesn't want/need more time), the following answer from Mike (RealOG) is excellent and worth sharing.

FROM MIKE
Time = Money

As your time becomes more valuable, it is worth more money. Start hiring out the tasks that are not worth your time.

If money is an issue, consider the following:
1. equity/profit share partners
2. interns
3. task-based contractors

You don't have to hire out for your business, hire out to do the simple bullshit of life like cleaning (maid service), grocery shopping (Safeway - Ingredients for Life), laundry (wash n fold services).

Your time has to be more valuable than those things.

The other options are reducing sleep, multi-tasking, giving yourself time limits. I find that my first hour is the most effective of any task. Therefore I dont spend more than one hour at any one task. If is takes longer, I come back and do it later.
END

I would like to continue the discussion out here in the main forum.

What do you do for more time if your time is valuable but funding is such that it is not prudent to spend? What factors do you use to weigh when to start paying for these other things? What are your ideas of ways to implement these ideas w/o spending?

 

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[wildambitions]

More Time in a Day?

bump!

 

[Kung Fu Steve]

It'd be interesting to discuss those who have loaded themselves with tasks where time does not equal money, but time being wasted on non-profitable activities?

How do you tell someone who "has no time" that they really need to start a business to be "secure" these days? How do you tell someone who is overweight and has "no time" to exercise?

And then in the case of early budding entrepreneurs how do you free up time when the budget is sparse for hiring out?

Timothy Ferris has a ton of great ideas, but what about when the business is character based? Meaning: the customers come from all over to see YOU, not someone that has been hired - You

 

[HCBailly]

I agree with Steve. I don’t think the issue is so much how much time we have, as it is how efficiently are we using it. Recently in life, I’ve come to think of time itself as an investment tool to make my life better.

Regarding your suggestion about sleep, that doesn’t work for me, personally. Sure, I could get by on 6-7 hours of sleep, but then I suffer the consequence of having less energy and working less efficiently. So, while I have more hours in the day to use, I make less total progress that day. Personally, I find that I make the most progress in a day when I invest 8 hours per day into sleep. On the other hand, some people can work more efficiently on 4-6 hours of sleep per day. That’s just not me.

In my specific case, when we had so much work that we needed more time, but couldn’t hire more employees, we started raising our prices until we made enough money or lost enough bad clients to have more time. Now that the economy is down, I’m having big sales to boost business, since I have plenty of time on my hands. Normally, I disagree with the idea of lowering prices for a service that is worth more, but I can definitely say that if I did not do that, I would not have made it through the winter.

 

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[MonTexan]

Regarding your suggestion about sleep, that doesn’t work for me, personally. Sure, I could get by on 6-7 hours of sleep, but then I suffer the consequence of having less energy and working less efficiently. So, while I have more hours in the day to use, I make less total progress that day. Personally, I find that I make the most progress in a day when I invest 8 hours per day into sleep. On the other hand, some people can work more efficiently on 4-6 hours of sleep per day. That’s just not me.

This made me think of an article I read a couple years ago on "polyphasic sleep." It's a process of training yourself to go into REM sleep very quickly while sleeping in 20-30 minute "naps" throughout the day, thereby only sleeping 2-3 hours per day. :coffee: Wow, sounds crazy, but it would sure free up some time! The below article talks more about it and actually includes a diary of sorts as the author tried it for himself.

Polyphasic Sleep

 

[biophase]

What do you do for more time if your time is valuable but funding is such that it is not prudent to spend? What factors do you use to weigh when to start paying for these other things? What are your ideas of ways to implement these ideas w/o spending?

I think most of you know that I'm a pretty lazy person and value my time. I find that if you sit there and value your time monetarily ALL THE TIME that you start to lose focus on the value of time.

One example is that I was hanging out with someone who is self employed and can make $100/hr. The problem with him was that when we were eating dinner at a restaurant that cost $20, he was looking at it as he lost $100 during the hour he was at the restaurant. What's the alternative? Order pizza and eat in the office? Is that better?

Living in Arizona, I tried to mow my own lawn the first summer. But is it really worth it to mow the lawn when its 110 degrees outside? Not for me, I hired a landscaper for $75 a pop! I don't make $75/hr, but its definitely one hour that I'm willing to pay $75 for.

I don't look at my hours in dollars per hour. I view them by their actual value.

If I am doing nothing but relaxing or hanging out at home, I can partake in tasks such as building links, SEO, cleaning the house, etc... My time relatively speaking for that day is not as valuable based of what I have planned.

However, if I plan on mountain biking that day and I HAVE to build some links or clean the house, I'll hire someone to do so. This is because my time biking to me is worth way more than sitting at the computer building links or cleaning.

If you pay someone $10/hr to do something, and then take a nap for two hours, is it worth it? Maybe not if you got 10 hours of sleep that night. But for someone who only got 3 hours of sleep, definitely.

Hope this makes sense.

 

[SaraK]

I agree with biophase that what time is worth is a very relative and subjective thing. I am actually trying to get away from the mindset of thinking of time as money, and rather thinking of the value I'm getting from how I use my time, very much like what biophase talked about. If you've got something important/valuable to do and don't have enough time, then hire out the small stuff. If you have the time, do it yourself.

I have been thinking recently that the whole TIME = MONEY is a very E quadrant, employee mentality. Employees trade time for money. Show up to work, get paid. Don't show up to work, don't get paid. But for an entrepreneur, time does not equal money. For example, when you are starting up a business, doing what you need to do to get it off the ground, do you get paid for that time? No, you get paid later when (and if) the business takes off. And the business will take off if you're offering something of value that people want to pay for. That is why I am trying to switch my mindset from TIME = MONEY to VALUE = MONEY.

 

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[RealOG]

Time = Money is a old adage that holds true, regardless of what quadrant you are in.

We had another thread where folks talk about money and what it actually represents. For this discussion, lets assume that money represents the value of something. Value in terms of money is easy to measure, but there are other measurements of value. Ie. happiness, health, etc.

Biophase makes a good point, that people value their time very differently. Its all relative. So in my original post, the point is whether your time is better served doing a task or not. Think of it as an opportunity cost, ie. what you are doing now vs. the value of what you could/should be doing.

Don't compare apples to oranges.

To truly be successful in any endeavor, you have to understand this concept and make the appropriate sacrifices.

 

[Kung Fu Steve]

Time = Money is a old adage that holds true, regardless of what quadrant you are in.

What about those who have seperated their time from their money?

I.E. MJ who makes money regardless of what he does.

 

[wildambitions]

It'd be interesting to discuss those who have loaded themselves with tasks where time does not equal money, but time being wasted on non-profitable activities?

To play devil's advocate here... How can you assume that a non-profitable activity is a waste of time? What if their time is benefiting others immensely, is this still a "waste" of time? Understandably, they are not profiting monetarily, but there are benefits other than income.

How do you tell someone who "has no time" that they really need to start a business to be "secure" these days? How do you tell someone who is overweight and has "no time" to exercise?

These require a different mindset. If someone is an "E", you will not be able to convince them to start a business. And in either case, THEY have to want to change their own circumstances.

And then in the case of early budding entrepreneurs how do you free up time when the budget is sparse for hiring out?

This was more along my line of questioning as well.

Great responses thus far... keep it coming.

 

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[RealOG]

What about those who have seperated their time from their money?

I.E. MJ who makes money regardless of what he does.

Tru dat. This is the end state everyone on here is looking for.

But this doesn't just happen. It took lots of hours, sacrifices, and hardwork.

It takes time to make time...

 

[andviv]

Bump. Found this thread and wonder if there are more ideas out there...

 

[mtnman]

Great bump!

In my own life, it is key for work to be done on a system.

Work is neutral. It is the action that must happen for a system to be built. it is my vehicle to create something lacking skill or talent... or even carry out my strategies that contain my skills and talents, cuz ideas sitting in my head aren't making me shit ($$$).

It's fuel is either time or money, so whichever is paying for it, what is the system value is what I want to know?

I can then decipher which of the former is the best price to pay (time or money).

System = compounding value

compounding value = less time or money on going or increasing returns for effort plateau

Now, this is not the real challenge, at least for me. I F*ck up all the time because my business has not reached critical mass yet.

I battle my old ways and yearning to do what I'm good at and enjoy... idea and system design + strategy, data mining, testing, etc...

But none of that makes money without the grind. If you have a system that pays for the grind, the equation changes and a shift can occur. You can then choose your currency, how you pay, and often how much you pay. This is what I am working toward.

note- you can tell by my current thinking, this is totally relating to ebusiness.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Bottomline for anyone who wants to own their time:

First ...

Understand that the top passivity system out there isn't real estate, the internet, or any business -- it is MONEY, specifically, moving from borrower to lender. I own my time because I am a lender. Lend $10,000,000 and you will earn $40,000 a month for the rest of your life. Start saving your money. (And I don't mean money just in terms of US dollars, but short-term liquid assets not necessarily denominated in the greenback)

Second ...

To save large amounts of money, invest your time in a system that you control. The optimal word being "control". For example, when you join an MLM you invest in a system that you DON'T CONTROL. When you start an MLM, you invest in a system that you control. Real estate, internet, distribution -- these are systems you can control and will simultaneously fund the king passivity system ... MONEY.

 

[Moneymaka]

I'm wondering if changing the way time is currently displayed (24 hours, 60minutes,...) could change the way we spend our time.

Let's say in one day, there are 48 hours.
The clock will be ticking twice as fast as it should.
Would there be a psychological effect where our brain will tell us to work more since time is flying by faster?

 

[maximus20895]

^or to work less since you have a 16 hr workday instead of just 8

 

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[wildambitions]

Since my original post I have tried some techniques to make better use of my time.

What works for me is having a routine of some kind. Maybe not daily but a different schedule for each day of the week seems to work well for me.

In addition to having a routine, I also attempt to focus first on "what one thing can I do today to get me one step closer to my primary goal". I usually have different goals in different areas of my life that I concentrate on. For example, one day might be what one thing can I do today that will have the most impact on housekeeping, spending time with my family, creating passive income, creating any income, networking, creating my online presence, creating my local presence, etc.

 

[Moneymaka]

^or to work less since you have a 16 hr workday instead of just 8

That was just an example.
You could also change it to a 12 hour day. You'd have 4 hours instead of 8.

 

[maximus20895]

that would make me work more. The way I see it, most people are procrastinators. So they usually go " well, i have 4 more hours to do this." Instead they could say, "I only have 2 more hours"

I think making less hours in a day would be better.

 

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[Moneymaka]

Yes! That's exactly what i'm going through. I always delay things and do things at the last moment, because that's when there is enough pressure to actually do what i'm supposed to do. Less hours = more pressure.

Anyway, i'll see if a 12 hour day clock already exists.

 

[PaulRobert]

While I am firm believer in dreaming, I think dreaming should only take up 10% of your free time. Use the other 90% of your time and start DOING to achieve your dreams. The best example I have to offer is myself two years ago. I had a great idea for a website but I only dreamed of doing it, but every moment I had a little free time, what would I do? I would go do something that wasted time instead of using the time to my advantage. And what did I have to show for it? Zip, nada, nothing. All it was, was a thought. The best way is to change up your routine. Instead of watching T.V. in the evening, work on your ideas. What will Dancing with Stars do for you that gets you closer to your dreams? When traveling in the car, listen to podcasts that teach you something. Time is something that we are all given. It is free but we are given choices on how we spend it. When I catch myself wasting time, I remember this saying "Woulda, shoulda, coulda," I will never say that to myself down the road. Time is now! Not tomorrow, not next week. My perspective has changed from "thinking about an idea" to executing on the idea and making it a reality. Every time I finish something that gets me closer to my dreams, I get a "natural high" that motivates me to work on it more. Just think about the last couple of days, months or years. Is there anything you regret (that is related to time, dreams or goals) that you could of done? Now look at today, what are your plans? Do you want to look back in a few months and say "Damn, I wish I did that then." I certainly do not.
Just my perspective on time management and using it wisely.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

While I am firm believer in dreaming, I think dreaming should only take up 10% of your free time. Use the other 90% of your time and start DOING to achieve your dreams. The best example I have to offer is myself two years ago. I had a great idea for a website but I only dreamed of doing it, but every moment I had a little free time, what would I do? I would go do something that wasted time instead of using the time to my advantage. And what did I have to show for it? Zip, nada, nothing. All it was, was a thought. The best way is to change up your routine. Instead of watching T.V. in the evening, work on your ideas. What will Dancing with Stars do for you that gets you closer to your dreams? When traveling in the car, listen to podcasts that teach you something. Time is something that we are all given. It is free but we are given choices on how we spend it. When I catch myself wasting time, I remember this saying "Woulda, shoulda, coulda," I will never say that to myself down the road. Time is now! Not tomorrow, not next week. My perspective has changed from "thinking about an idea" to executing on the idea and making it a reality. Every time I finish something that gets me closer to my dreams, I get a "natural high" that motivates me to work on it more. Just think about the last couple of days, months or years. Is there anything you regret (that is related to time, dreams or goals) that you could of done? Now look at today, what are your plans? Do you want to look back in a few months and say "Damn, I wish I did that then." I certainly do not.
Just my perspective on time management and using it wisely.

Having this perspective so early in life will reap tremendous dividends in time. The younger these choices in action and mindset are made, the more powerful (or "horsepower" as I say in my book) they are as time passes.

Think about it like this ....

When an asteroid is way out in space, but on a collision course with Earth, a simple 1 degree change in trajectory will save the earth from destruction. This is the power of trajectory. Young people have this power NOW with their choices. For us older folks, the Asteroid is closer to earth and our choices have less potency -- a 1 degree change isn't as effective and for the same potency, it needs to be 5 degrees.

Your choices have significant trajectory and the younger you are, the more power they exude.

Horsepower fades with age.

 

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[FDJustin]

Wow, what an awesome thread, worth a bump.

How do you tell someone who is overweight and has "no time" to exercise?

Copy the way people intervene with with those who rack up debt by constant, unconscious spending.

Don't try to change them for the first month, simply make them record what they're doing with their time, preferably as they do it. So maybe they need a timer that'll chime every hour, so they remember to quickly jot down what they did the last hour "Had lunch, talked to bob.".. On that note, have them record what they eat with ballpark portions, too. This'll come up later.

By the end of that month, they should know where and how they can make time... They simply need to commit to doing so. Doesn't even have to be every discrepancy, just the ones they'll least miss that will give them the extra time they need.

This isn't just for the big boned, anyone who feels they need more time, or "Don't know where all the time goes!" could try it out.

 

[Russ H]

I missed this the first time around.

MJ's comments about trajectory are legendary. SO true.

I credit my move out to CA in 1984 (a massive change in my trajectory) with the super huge changes in my life for the better.

But it's the little ones, done consistently over time, that can really make a difference.

-Russ H.

 

[Kung Fu Steve]

It'd be interesting to discuss those who have loaded themselves with tasks where time does not equal money, but time being wasted on non-profitable activities?

How do you tell someone who "has no time" that they really need to start a business to be "secure" these days? How do you tell someone who is overweight and has "no time" to exercise?

And then in the case of early budding entrepreneurs how do you free up time when the budget is sparse for hiring out?

Timothy Ferris has a ton of great ideas, but what about when the business is character based? Meaning: the customers come from all over to see YOU, not someone that has been hired - You

POSTED Apr 2nd, 2009 07:56 PM

How funny it is how quickly we grow. I'd like to remind those of you who've helped me grow that I am very appreciative! I will be forever in your debt!

I set out searching for these answers when you posted this thread soon to be two years ago! Cool thing is, I believe I have the answers to my own questions.

The original question posted was: "Do you need more time in a day?" The answer? Who doesn't! - Ha!

All of these questions, even the ones I posed comes down to two things, number one, what they value, and number two how they manage their time.

I'll start with the latter. I believe that the reason most people never really achieve their dreams is because they don't become clear about what they want AND even if they do, they don't consistently work towards those. What do I mean? Well people are asking the wrong question at the beginning of the day. They ask "what do I have to do today?" The question everyone should be asking is "what do I WANT?"

With the first one you are focused on what other people want. What are these? And who's priority are they - really?

My to-do list:

1. Go to the bank
2. Do the laundry
3. Pick up office supplies
4. File my taxes
5. Go to the bookstore

and on and on... Now before you jump down my throat, just stick with me for a second, you'll see where I'm going.. calm down!!!

What I want:

1. Passive income
2. More time with my friends and family
3. Exciting traveling adventures
4. Help massive amounts of people
5. Be healthy and strong

Now NONE of the things on my to-do list match the "what I want list" - and this is the time management issue behind the "time management issue". Most people's solution is to do more. "Just spend time iwth your family while you're doing laundry". How enjoyable is that? Another solution from time management gurus is "put it in a list or priorities" Another solution is "Just say no", there are a million solutions but the one I am proposing is to work your day around what you WANT instead of WHAT YOU MUST DO.

AGAIN - before you jump down my throat saying "well, I have to file my taxes! The laundry ain't goin' do it self!! My bills don't just get paid!!! Office supplies don't appear in my lap you know!!!!" Bare with me.

If at the beginning of the day you say "What do I want?" you can put your focus towards activites that will take you in that direction. You will only develop an 'Extraordinary Life' if you start going for your dreams instead of living the daily trap of "get up, work, pay bills, go to bed" This is a much larger convesation then I should have posted but I will make a video or something on it.

Really briefly - Number two is your Values. I post about this a long time ago. You make your decisions based on your list of values. For a simple example if you value
Financial Freedom above Health, you will work yourself the bone but you might get sick much more often and possibly out of shape. Where as if you do the opposite, you will take your breaks, eat healthier, and no work as much if it harms your health.

This is a muuuuch longer conversation but I am running out of time so if you are really curious about my big mouth and what else I have to ramble on about just ask :smxB:.

 

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[SaraK]

If at the beginning of the day you say "What do I want?" you can put your focus towards activites that will take you in that direction.

Thanks for this Steve, great point! This will be very useful to me because every day when I wake up it helps my brain wake up to run through in my head all the things I need to do that day. So now I will start it off with "What do I WANT to do that will TAKE ME CLOSER to my goals?" Then I will think about the rest of the to-dos after that. Priorities, priorities

 

[FDJustin]

POSTED Apr 2nd, 2009 07:56 PM

Yeah, I knew it was an old thread, but it was definitely worth addressing. Actually, part of the reason I even gave a go at one of those questions was because I figured, since you're still around, and still focused on this kind of thing - You would have something to say on it.


And look, there it is!

 

[Kung Fu Steve]

Ha, well I appreciate the kind words. I just hope it provides some sort of value for you guys. The more I get into this field of personal development the more I deeply and honestly want to help people become successful. I would really enjoy it someday if someone came up to me and said "I turned my whole life around because of what you had to teach me!" - That would just be tops :smxB:

 

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