Take Inventory of Your Time

The hour glass is a powerful metaphor for time because it shows the finite nature of our lives. Think of the top as our future, the neck as our present, and the bottom as our past. When we start to see more sand at the bottom than the top, the decisions we make about today suddenly seem much more important. We develop a sense of urgency to accomplish things that we didn't have before.

Have you ever considered how short the pile of monthly calendars would be for the number of years that you have left? I'm not trying to be morbid, instead, I'm hoping to impress upon you the need to value your time and think of it as an asset. It is one of the only assets that you have that you can't replace. Once a day has passed, you can't get it back. This fact makes it essential to treat each day, minute, and moment as precious and meaningful. John Maxwell has an excellent piece called The Value of Time:

To know the value of one year - Ask the student who failed their final.
To know the value of one month - ask the mother of a premature baby.
To know the value of one week - ask the editor of a weekly magazine.
To know the value of one day - ask the wage earner with six children.
To know the value of one hour - ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.
To know the value of one minute - ask the person who missed the plane.
To know the value of one second - ask the person who survived the accident.
To know the value of one millisecond - ask the Olympic silver medalist

Just writing on this topic has caused me to stop (not for too long, though) and think about how I'm using my time. Am I focused on getting the most out of life?