Pre deciding how to use your resources is the key to financial wellness
A few weeks ago, I found myself with three hours of “free time”. By free time, I mean that my kids were with other people and I had time to use as I pleased. I knew I wanted to spend the time working, but as I sat down at my desk, I had no idea how to use the time. There were a dozen projects I could work on – each one seemingly as important as the next. My three hours came and went and I didn’t accomplish anything. I was disappointed.
Last year, before my second child was born, I learned to effectively use a calendar. I time blocked all my tasks and was accomplishing more than ever before. When my second son arrived, I mostly stopped using a calendar to schedule work tasks. I figured, “I’ll get to them when I have time”. As you might imagine, I don’t always have (or really, make) time. I neglected the tool that had been so effective for me.
It isn’t the calendaring per se that is so effective, but rather pre deciding how I am going to use my time (a calendar just happens to be a brilliant tool in assisting with this). With a dozen tasks pulling at my attention in any given moment, it can be hard to decide which one takes priority and it can be easy to wither away hours in paralyzed indecision.
Experiencing this recent defeat reminded me of why it is so important – my time is a sacred and limited resource and I want to use it intentionally. While my free time is not completely predictable (depends largely on someone else’s erratic sleep schedule), the amount of free time in a given day is generally predictable. I might have an hour every day and three or four when I can arrange care. I can prioritize my tasks before those days so that when I sit down to work, I can dive right in, without concern for where to begin.
Oftentimes when I work with clients, we discuss and sometimes even implement a calendaring system into their lives as well. Being mindful of time is completely intertwined with utilizing money. We have to know what the upcoming week, month, and year looks like. We might even have a vague idea of what the next five or ten years look like – or what we want them to look like. Being adept at planning, both time and money, is a critical tool for financial wellness. It removes indecision, anxiety, and uncertainty. Pre deciding what you will do when you get a raise or earn additional income means you use it intentionally when it arrives. Pre deciding how much to set aside for a new car means you have money saved when you need it. Pre deciding what retirement looks like sets you up to be able to achieve it.
A calendar is your tool for planning your time just as a spending plan is your tool for planning how to use your money. Using them together is a recipe for long lasting success and financial wellness. I’m back to utilizing my calendar, for even when things aren’t completely predictable, it serves as a support to help guide me towards my goals and gives me the opportunity to plan for success every day.