5 Ways You Can Use Your Time Like Money

In a CNBC article a couple of years ago, it stated that over 61% of Americans had “getting out of debt” as their number one goal. Number 2 was to “max out their retirement accounts,” followed by “negotiating a raise,” and “starting to invest.”

I smiled as I reflected on those goals because the same thing could be said about how people use their time. They want to reduce their sense of overload (debt), plan for the long term (retirement), use their time in more valuable ways (raise), and get a better return on how they use their time (invest).

If you're looking to make similar improvements in how you use your time this year, here are five principles from the financial world to help you achieve your goals:

💲Budget To Zero 🕒

One strategy suggested by many financial planners to start getting out of debt is to create a budget to know where every dollar is being spent. It's a sound practice for managing your time as well. If you don't know where your time is being spent, how can you make adjustments to improve? The power behind budgeting to zero with your time is you begin focusing on where you want your time to be used, instead of being a victim to your current circumstances, feelings, or the expectations of others.

💲Save For A Specific Reason 🕒

Ever notice how when you really want something tangible in the near future it is easier to change your spending habits than if the goal of your saving is a vague goal years away? Motivate yourself to work efficiently now by identifying a reward or incentive for your efforts. Reminding yourself what you're "saving for" gives you greater mental strength to minimize distractions and stay focused.

And remember that one of the differences between time and money is that you can't really save time... you can only spend less time engaged in one activity... which creates more time available for something else.

💲Know Your Working Capital 🕒

Working capital, in financial terms, is defined as current assets minus current liabilities. For your time, it's the minutes and hours you have available for investing in more strategic type activities (creating long term assets) after you satisfy all the daily demands for your time (short term liabilities). If you review your day and find that you only have about 30 minutes of time to work strategically, you need to determine the best use of that time. And if you are finding that you don't have any strategic time... it's time to reduce some of those liabilities.

💲Don't Sulk About Sunk Costs 🕒

If I had a dollar for every time I've heard someone say, "I wish I hadn't bought that _____________ (insert boat, car, house, motorcycle, puppy, or impulse purchase), I'd be able to buy such an item. Sunk costs are those incurred that can't be recovered. And while we sulk about such purchases financially, we also engage in the practice when reflecting on our poor use of time. We beat ourselves up for getting lost in our email for an hour, allowing a co worker to vent way too long about a small problem, or bingeing on a favorite Netflix series. A better way to use our reflection on these sunk costs is to ask questions like:

• "What factors led me to making that poor choice?'

• "What boundary or habit can I put in place to help ensure I don't make the same mistake as often?"

💲Use Double Entry Accounting 🕒

For over 500 years, the practice of double entry has been used in accounting. It simply means that any action taken with money affects at least two accounts. Your time works in a similar way. Anything you say "Yes" to (liability) reduces your available time for something else (asset). Of course if you are saying yes to the right kinds of investments of your time, you are creating a wealth of possibilities for yourself professionally and personally.

Finally, if you want to see how using your time more wisely might also help with that debt or investment goal, how about a quote from Warren Buffett, who has a current net worth of over 87 billion dollars. He is quoted as saying:

The rich invest in time; the poor invest in money.

How could you use your time more like money to have a better year?