“What did you do this weekend?” When is the last time you were asked this question? I’d say that there is likely a better than average chance that your answer started with the phrase “I spent my weekend…” Spent. As in it’s gone forever. As in, “Oh that? Yeah, I spent that. It’s totally gone now.” If that’s the case, then you may require some time management advice.
The words “I spent” have become a common way to describe periods of time during our lives.
“I spent the entire day today doing wash.”
“I just spent the last hour getting my ear chewed off by Bob from Accounting.”
“I spent the entire week sick in bed.”
“I plan on spending the entire weekend doing nothing but sitting on the couch, eating ice cream and watching Friends.”
There’s a problem with this term, though, and it lies in the unspoken connotation that’s conveyed here. Typically when we use the word ‘spend’ we’re associating it with money. “How much do I need to spend to get X?” or “I spent so much money this weekend”.
Certainly we normally receive something in return for spending that money. We walk away with goods or services of some kind. But when we use those words – spend or spent – to describe a purchase, the result that we’re focusing on isn’t the goods or service that we received. The focus is on the fact that our money is gone!
“I had to spend a thousand bucks to fix my car.”
“I just spent fifty bucks at the concession stand at the movie theater.”
But what about when you’re happy with your purchase, how do you describe it then? It usually sounds something like this:
“I just bought a new flatscreen TV.”
“I got a new car this weekend.”
When you’re happy with how your spending your money, you describe it differently. You use different language. You look at that purchase as an investment, not as no longer having the money you once had. You transformed that money into something useful and you’re happy about it.
Invest in Your Time Management
Which brings me to how you’re spending your greatest commodity of all – your time!
Are you spending your time… or are you using your time and investing it in yourself?
It’s simple really, and it comes down to this. If you sit around and d0 nothing but watch TV and nap, then your spending your time. That time has now passed you by and it’s gone forever. You got nothing out of it. You have nothing to show for it except for an increased knowledge of the Kardashians.
Manage Your Time To Achieve More
But if you used that time to work towards a goal…then you’ve instead invested that time! You took something available to you – your time – and turned it into an opportunity to make your life, or the lives of others, better.
You might be saying “But I’m tired! I need a nap!” Or “my goal was to learn more about the Kardashians!” Ok, then great, maybe that was your goal. In which case, well done!
But whatever the case is, it’s important to examine how you’re using your time and determine if you’re spending it or investing it. The you need to examine if the language you’re using to describe your life is helping you or acting as a deterrent.
Making small changes to how you verbally communicate your actions to the outside world can have huge, lasting effects on your ability to take advantage of what’s available to you. It changes how easily your brain can recognize the opportunities available to you and the tools that surround you so that you can use them to take advantage of those opportunities.
After all, opportunities and tools are available all around us. You just need to decide if you’re going to spend your time wondering when you’ll hear about them, or if you’re going to invest your time in yourself so that you can go searching for them.
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