Calculated Time: Spending It Wisely

Recently a woman shared that she was mad at her friend for doing math. More specifically, the 70-year old friend calculated time related to their life expectancy. The friend determined if she lived 1 more year, that would be 365 days. If she lived 10 more years, she would have 3,650 days to spend. And suspecting a limit of living to 90, that she would have a little over 7,000 days left in her life if she lived 20 more years.

The woman was incredulous when faced by the friend’s simple math and confided she felt halted by feelings of wasting precious time. Furthermore, she was overwhelmed trying to determine how to use her numbered days without sacrificing days to unimportant things. Immobilized at the importance of her choices, a cycle of pressure and depression formed. How could she spend her time wisely?

When discussing the woman’s fear of squandering her days, I asked how she knew whether a day was well used or wasted. She paused and did not have a readily available metric. I offered 2 considerations to help her better define her success or forfeiture of time.

What Is Your Measurement?

When measuring distance, we can use a ruler, yard stick, miles and so on. But what can you use to measure the proper use of time? First determine what are your ideal ways to “spend” time to know if you are making the most of it. To some, it may be teaching your child a new thing. To another, spending quality time with family and friends is a day well spent. A workaholic could suggest the best days are those measured by work outcomes. A person struggling with their health can accomplish a good day by making it outside. Ask yourself, what is the way you want to use your time? Define what is worthy of 1 of the not-actually-guaranteed 7000 days.

What Actions Support Your Goals?

Next, determine what actions serve those goals. If you treasure family time but work late 5 days a week, your satisfaction will suffer (enter mom guilt). If you aim to get outside but spend 3 hours a day watching TV, this is undermining your efforts to spend time wisely. What can you do to better support your goals? This includes not only doing more of the intended things, but also doing less of the detracting activities. Saying no to extraneous responsibilities can also help reclaim time to spend where you prefer.

While the “Mean Math Friend” provided a moment to consider our use of time, the truth is that no time is guaranteed aside from the present. If you make each day a little success based on your personal measurements, happiness and contentment will surround however many days we achieve.