Time is Like Money

Coaching baseball, running a business, earning a Master’s degree, serving in ministry, and being a great husband and father all at the same time can seem like a huge juggling challenge to the causal observer. When my wife asked me to drive her on an errand, while I was trying to complete a reading assignment for school, it was not an interruption, but rather an opportunity to shift my focus from the objective of earning a Master’s degree to the objective of being a good husband. That’s an important distinction and a good lesson in perspective.

Second, driving Stephanie to the mall and getting my school work done were not opposing time demands. They could be easily integrated if I just thought about my time in terms of minutes rather than blocks of hours. We’ve all heard the adage, time is money. True in one context, but time is also like money, in that it is currency, and you are continually spending it, moment by moment. People who get a lot done and seem to “have it all” live an integrated life. They don’t like to waste time, but they see time in minutes. Paying a bit more attention to how those minutes get spent will make you aware of how many of them are wasted. No one can really manage his time. He can only spend it. So, it must be spent well.

A Few Pointers

I read about 50 books a year. But, half of them are audiobooks. I listen in the car traveling to and from the office, on the airplane during flights, while walking the dogs, and so on. Rather than waste all that driving, flying, and walking time on mindless mental wandering and useless cell phone chit-chat, I put it to better use. You can buy audiobooks on CD, or you can download them to your smart phone or tablet and take them everywhere you go. Even some of my school books are available in audio format. It’s the future of publishing.

Here’s another pointer. Use your televisions; don’t let them use you. Turn off the televisions, all of them. Only turn them on for a specific program or movie. Some folks turn the TV on as soon as they come home and it stays on all night until bedtime, then they turn on the TV in the bedroom and watch more worthless “entertainment” until they doze off to sleep. TV, TV, TV. It will suck the life out of your otherwise “free time.” That said, I had a television installed in my bathroom.  I spend a good thirty minutes getting ready every morning. The TV is set for my favorite news channel, and I get prepared for my day both physically and mentally by catching up on the top stories while shaving, showering and getting dressed.

One more pointer. I travel extensively for education, ministry, and business. This could steal a lot of precious time away from my family. But, I bring them along. My son is taking an African mission trip with me this year. My wife routinely comes with me on business travel. A few summers ago, I included my daughter on an archaeological dig in Israel for a course I was taking at seminary. Integrate everywhere. I integrate driving and reading, shaving and news consumption, travel and family time, and so on. Now, how can you start integrating? To get the most out of your time, be flexible and opportunistic, pay attention to where it is going, and start integrating whenever you can.

The Multi-Tasking Myth

I coach baseball. A couple of seasons ago, while coaching the spring season of my son’s elite youth baseball team, I was also carrying a load of 12 hours (6 courses) in my Master’s degree program. In addition, I was running my wealth management practice and pastoring the small community church I had planted 12 years earlier. Needless to say, time was a little tight. One evening, while catching up on my reading assignments for school, and after a full day’s work at the office, my wife asked me to drive her to the mall. I asked if I could wait in the car while she shopped. She said, “Sure.” I asked how long she’d be, and she said, “Maybe 20-30 minutes.” I thought to myself, “I could get a whole chapter of reading done in that time,” then turned to her and said, “You bet. Let’s go. I’ll read in the car while I’m waiting for you. Take your time.” This small slice of daily life offers two useful instructions.

First, I did not see my wife’s request as an interruption because I do not see my educational goals as in competition with my family goals. I want to earn this Master’s and then go on to a PhD. I also want to be an excellent husband and father. To do both, I merely need to be flexible and opportunistic. It is about perspective. Too often we settle for small goals or none at all because we don’t think we can “do it all.” We work, we go home, we go to sleep. Doing it all is for other people who have limitless supplies of energy and otherworldly self control. But, that is really just a perception that does not prove true. There is no such thing as multi-tasking, per se. Rather, there is only flexible and opportunistic tasking. This is the skill of moving easily from one objective to the other and back again without getting flustered or losing momentum. Take “interruptions” in stride, but keep moving forward. If one objective meets a temporary roadblock, then shift to another one. Don’t fall apart or fall off the wagon, just keep making progress. You will eventually get there.  The longest journey begins with the first step.  Keep taking deliberate steps, and you will reach your objective, no matter how many of them you have.

Stay tuned for Part II…

Always Be Professional

My version of a popular saying goes like this: “We don’t drink, smoke, swear, or chew, and we never run with those who do.” These vices get in the way of business; they do not facilitate it. They are distractions, they are distasteful, they are ungentlemanly (and, especially unladylike), they are costly, and they are unprofessional. Everything you do in life has either a cost or a payoff, takes you closer to your goals or farther away, or helps or harms you.  Little, if anything, that you do is benign. And, so it is in business. Vices can kill your professionalism, even if you can’t see it. There is a better way to win clients and build business relationships. Always be a professional.

Drugs and Alcohol

I don’t drink alcohol. I am not against it, per se. Nor am I self righteous when others do. It’s legal in most situations. I just can’t see a benefit that outweighs the risks. Alcohol dulls the senses. I want to be in charge of my faculties. Drinking produces drunk drivers. I don’t want to hurt others, especially while driving under the influence. Alcohol lowers inhibitions. I don’t want to do things I might regret later. Alcohol is expensive. I don’t want to be seen as a sycophant in a business relationship. Getting drunk makes you less attractive (I can hardly afford to be any less so). I don’t want clients, co-workers, or business associates to see me in a state of intoxication. There is nothing to be gained and much to be lost. Avoid the practice in any business situation. I maintain a stiff firm policy: No drinking with clients, co-workers, vendors, sponsors, or the home office, whether before or after business hours, whether at home or while traveling, whether on personal or company time. We just don’t go there as a matter of principle.

I don’t use drugs, I AM against it, and I AM self-righteous when others do. It’s illegal. Otherwise, everything else above concerning alcohol applies here.  Don’t do it.  Ever.

Tobacco

Of course, it is harmful to your health. That alone should be reason enough to avoid the practice, but let us stick with the context of business. Smoking makes you smell funny, yellows your teeth, soils your clothing, takes time away from your duties, and reveals a weakness to addiction which is undesirable in any business situation. Most smokers are unaware of the aromatic cloud that follows them around throughout the day. In decades past, smoking was not only considered socially acceptable, but it was cool. All the movie stars did it. Today, smokers are more and more relegated to sidewalks, back alleys, and airport smoking booths. Restaurants, bars, theaters, office buildings, and retail establishments have all but eliminated smoking in urban and suburban areas around the country, and the trend has gone international. It should have no place in your business world. I want to present a professional image in every business context. I do not want time wasted on smoking breaks. I do not want to be seen as susceptible to unsavory appetites. We strive to hire nonsmokers exclusively in our practice.

Foul Language

Foul language is the last resort of a limited vocabulary. People who use foul language, especially in a business context, degrade themselves and those around them. Its use is disrespectful and creates a poor work environment, especially for the ladies. I once was in a meeting with a new client who let an f-bomb fly in earshot of two of my female staffers. The man had a belligerent attitude, and I feared correcting him would cause a scene. But, I felt compelled to stand up for my staff and our principles. All I had to say was, “Please watch your language, there are ladies about.” He immediately lowered his countenance and sheepishly apologized. I was relieved. He conducted himself honorably in every future encounter with me and my staff. In another instance, I was at the mall shopping for a gift for my wife. I was so impressed with the grace and professionalism of the woman who helped me, I hired her to join our staff. Within a month, I was getting complaints from her co-workers that she was using strong foul language in the office. I could hardly believe it.  When I called her on it, she immediately admitted to the practice.  I terminated her on the spot. If cursing and swearing are allowed to exist they will flourish. That is not the kind of environment I want for my clients and staff. Set a zero tolerance policy and set the best example yourself.

One Final Word

Practicing vice (bad habits and immoral behavior) is indiscretion (behavior that displays a lack of good judgment). This quote speaks best to the issue of exercising vice: “Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout, so is a woman who lacks discretion” -Proverbs 11:2. The woman is the small gold ring, the vice is the large pig. Sort of lays it out there, doesn’t it?