5 Critical Areas In Which You Should Invest Time
Posted on December 26, 2018 by Rajiv Luv, One of Thousands of Executive Coaches on Noomii.
We all are given the same amount of time, twenty four hours. It is in this time that some people achieve success and some people keep complaining.
You can do two things with time. You can either spend time or invest time. Most people prefer to spend time rather than invest time and many can’t make out the difference between the two. For example, if I watch TV, I am spending time but if I read a book, I am investing time. All pleasure seeking activities can be classified as ‘spending’ time and all goal achieving activities can be seen as ‘investing’ time. Of course, if you are a person whose profession is related to films and TV, then watching TV would also be an investment.
Having spent more than half a century on this planet, I have come to the conclusion that investing your time wisely gives you exceptional returns. I was working in a 9 to 5 job. My commute time was about 5 hours daily, by the time I reached home, I was exhausted. The job was not at all satisfying. I craved becoming a Soft Skills Trainer but resented that I didn’t have time to learn and prepare.
One day, I found myself, screaming at myself, “You stupid fellow, you don’t have time?” “Why do you waste your commute time?” To cut a long story short, I started reading books during my bus journey, mentally rehearsing my presentations, even recording my lectures on an audio cassette and then listening to it on a cassette player. I did this for two years and one day I quit my job. It is 25 years and I have never looked back. Those two years, launched me into a completely new career and increased my earnings by almost 50 times. Which company do you think will give you such an increment?
In the above example, I shared how I invested time in building a career for myself. Besides career, I think there are 5 critical areas where you should invest time. Doing so will keep you happy, healthy, give more meaning and purpose to your life and you will make a difference even long after you have gone. Does the idea appeal to you? Here are the five areas.
1. Health
Let me put it very bluntly, if you don’t invest time in health, you can’t invest time in anything else. I don’t advocate a stringent regimen. Eat healthy, say no to unhealthy foods. Enough has already been written on the subject, besides, our body too keeps telling us, warning us but we turn a deaf ear and ignore it and soon we have started digging our graves with our teeth. Develop the habit of going for a walk for an hour every day specially in the morning as you could get your daily dose of vitamin D, which nature distributes free of cost. If you could include some breathing exercises, meditation, stretching exercises or simple yoga postures, you don’t have to worry about health. What? You have no time for this? Don’t worry, you will always find to get admitted to the hospital!
2. Knowledge
If you don’t invest time in upgrading your knowledge then very soon you would be obsolete. It is said that knowledge keeps on doubling every two years, so it is quite a challenge to keep up with the changing times and technology. So have a plan for upgrading your knowledge first in your domain and then in related areas.
3. Children
This is the most important investment of time. And the best way you can do this is by spending quality time with your children. Become a role model for your child, they may not listen to you but they will always do what you do. Being a trainer, I have to read a lot of books to keep myself updated, this has prompted my son to get into the habit of buying books and reading them. The best gift you can give your children is self-esteem; this will make them confident to face the world. With both the parents working, the child spends a lot of time in front of the TV and learns most of the lessons from it, whether good or bad. Cases of suicides, drugs, shoot-out at schools are all because parents didn’t invest time with their kids. Simple things one could do, listen to the child, encourage him, and make him feel worthy and proud of him or herself. If you don’t invest time here, you may have to hang your head in shame, sooner or later.
4. Generating a Passive Income
Most people trade their time for money, which means if they are not physically present, they don’t earn any money. Investing time in generating a passive income could give you lifelong security. How could we do this? One is by having some "real estate’ which could be rented out. Another way could be to create information or any other products which will generate income for you, even when you are sleeping or long after you have retired or even gone! I wish I had learned about this when I was much younger, but no problem, I have started investing time in it and I am sure it will yield tremendous results.
5. Leaving a Legacy
You see a bench in a park which has the name of the person who donated it or you see an operation theater in a Hospital which bears the name of the person who donated the money to build the theater. These are some ways by which people leave a legacy after they have gone. Invest time in doing some good which leaves a legacy for you. As the saying goes, “You can help a person by giving him fish to eat” But “You make a difference when you teach him how to fish and how to cook it.” I strongly believe, making a difference in people’s life is the best way to leave a legacy. In a small way, I do that when I teach underprivileged children and see the transformation that comes over them.
Take time to reflect on these five critical areas, develop a plan for each and then take massive action. Years later, you will thank yourself for investing time in these areas. If you do that, for me, it would be ‘leaving a legacy.’
