Further Thoughts on Time, Money, and Energy

I wrote a post three years ago called "Time, Money, and Energy." Looking back on that classic, I realize my viewpoints have changed a bit.

My turn towards minimalism has been a result of my frustrations with time, money, and energy. My ambitions exceeded my supply of those resources. When I wrote the original, I was not yet a minimalist. I would spend my days psyching myself up to try and do more stuff. I would get things done, but I never got enough done to my satisfaction. The answer was always more--more time, money, and energy.

I still struggle with these things, but the answer has changed. Now, the answer is less. I refine my goals. I eliminate things. I declutter. I edit. I focus. The results have been much better. What you choose not to do is as important as what you choose to do.

Time is limited and will always be limited. Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day. You can try and cram more activities into that 24 hour period, but you are going to fail. I think this is something that older folks have learned which is why they don't hurry. I get frustrated when some older driver in front of me is going too slow until I look down and see they are doing the speed limit. Their problem isn't their slowness. The problem is that I have managed my time poorly, and I am trying to make the insanity work. Basically, I'm late. They've learned to get up earlier and prepare. They have their shit together while I don't.

The reason people have trouble managing time is because they try and do more than is possible. In the case of being late for work, it is almost always the result of staying up late the night before working on some project (or partying.) Behind this is a belief that you can squeeze more out of the time that you have. But you can't. There is no 25 hour day. When you cram the day, you are going to fail. You are going to end up not being able to do something. By cutting back, you decide between what matters and what doesn't. The surprising thing I have learned is that I get more done when I choose to do less. The reason for this is that I get done the things that matter. The chaos strategy lets failure edit my day for me.

This leads to the issue of money. I used to be fond of saying that all problems were money problems. Now that I am older and wiser, I realize this is not true. Problems are the result of poor choices and bad habits. We look to money as the solution to this fundamental problem. When we don't have the money, we say that our problems are because we don't have enough money. Yet, when people like lottery winners come into money, they blow it all in a short time period. Meanwhile, rich people like the ones in The Millionaire Next Door tend to amass wealth as a consequence of lifestyle and habits. They have two primary habits that make this wealth possible--hard work and thrift. People are broke because they are lazy and spend too much. Since people don't want to acknowledge these flaws in their character, they always tell a hard luck story about misfortune and expect others to bail them out. Or they get stupid and resort to credit. Yet, if they corrected those two flaws, their money problems would be gone.

This brings us to energy. I remember reading that ultrarunner Dean Karnazes only sleeps four hours per night. I don't know if this is true or hype. I've done the four hour thing supercharged with high doses of caffeine. When I make coffee, it is black sludge. Going without sleep doesn't work. Sleeping only four hours a night will give us 20 hours per day. Surely, this is an answer to our time problems. But I find that I function so poorly that it isn't worth it. I need six hours of sleep each night. The misery from gaining those two extra hours of time isn't worth it. And coffee is no antidote to sleep deprivation.

Lifehacking has become popular because they hold out the promise that you can overcome the problems of time, money, and energy with a few clever tricks. These are gimmicks. The longer I live I find that the answers are still the same old classic wisdom I have grown up with and choose to ignore. Here are some practical tips:

-Limit your leisure.

I am probably the only blogger on the internet that gives this advice. From minimalist bloggers to Tim Ferriss, the mantra is to work less and have more fun. This is very appealing until I translate it to what it really means--be lazy and spend more money. We equate free time and leisure with happiness while work is seen as drudgery. But from all I have read, people's most enjoyable moments come from their jobs. Or as the Puritans put it, "There is no joy in idleness." And since leisure usually requires toys, limiting this area also has the added benefit of saving you money. By working more, you will enjoy life more, make more money, and save more money. There is no lifehack invented that can beat this.

-Live small and light.

A lot of time, money, and energy is spent and wasted trying to live large. A bigger house requires more resources to clean, maintain, and heat and cool. A bigger vehicle usually costs more and drinks more gas and yet doesn't get you to Point B any better or faster than a smaller vehicle. Since 80% of the time Point B is going to work or hitting the store for milk, this is a lot of gas to burn for so little. People usually buy a vehicle for their biggest possible need such as pulling their RV instead of their most common need which is driving solo to work, appointments, and errands. It's like using a machete to spread butter.

-Sleep.

People look at sleep as time wasted, but sleep is the recharge for the batteries. Just like your cellphone or your laptop, you learn to use the energy there wisely and to recharge as often as you can. Sometimes, you can go longer, but you accept that at some point the battery will be done. Sleep is the same way. Until science comes out with a breakthrough, you need to close your eyes once in awhile and get some rest.

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