Do You Have Time For Debt?

Photo by ylorson

As you may have read, my strengths enable me to plan and act on that plan. Not everyone is a planner, and I have started to come to terms with that. I definitely don’t plan perfectly and I struggle just like everyone else when it comes to things I really don’t want to do. I have learned, from observing my own life, the ill effects of not planning or not carrying out a plan. I also know it is something anybody can learn and improve upon if they practice.

Here I want to explore the concept of debt in the form of time. We all have 24 hours in every day. We’ll never have more and we’ll never have less. It is obvious, however, that some people accomplish much more than others with the same 24 hours. Why? It’s all about the plan. If you are working your way out of debt, you should have started with a budget. A budget is a plan that gives every dollar a name at the beginning of the month. Every dollar is spent on paper. What if we took that concept and applied it to the 24 hours of each day? You take the necessities of working, sleeping, eating, exercising, etc and budget them into the 24 hours. Then you take the remaining activities that are not as high on the priority list and budget those into the remaining hours. Your time is then well spent. You have accomplished the important things and they are not piling up for you to do tomorrow.

What happens when we don’t budget our time?
What happens when you don’t plan to get in bed at a decent hour? You wake up late the next morning and find yourself behind…again.
What happens when you don’t plan to exercise and eat healthy? You skip the workout and go for the comfort food and pile on the guilt.
What happens when you don’t look at your calendar? You forget about the doctor appointment and (ouch) it just cost $25 dollars for a no-show.
What happens when you don’t plan for dinner? You are stuck with eating out…or if you’re serious about getting out of debt-peanut butter and jelly.
What happens when you don’t plan for church on Sunday morning? You rush around, yell at the kids, skip the shower, throw on a wrinkly shirt, forget to write a check for your tithe, and break the law (and speed of sound) all the way to church. Can you tell I’ve done this before?

When we don’t plan, we take on the mindset of instant gratification, expecting good things to happen immediately. Those good things might happen, but at a high cost and the better things get passed over.
When we don’t plan, we take on more risk for ourselves and loved ones. We make hasty and unwise decisions. We speed through life and drive recklessly. We pay more money for less healthy food, endangering our health and our bank account.
When we don’t plan, we have to rely heavily on others to do more and give more to help us accomplish things. We rack up emotional debt.

So what happens when we do budget our time?
What happens when you do plan to get in bed at a decent hour? You wake up feeling refreshed and you know there are not a million things to catch up on.
What happens when you do plan to exercise and eat healthy? You eat the right foods and you schedule time for exercise. You don’t have to beat yourself up that day for missing out.
What happens when you do look at your calendar? You remember that doctors appointment and, hey, it only cost $10 to do so.
What happens when you do plan for dinner? You get to eat a delicious meal that did not put a dent in your financial budget.
What happens when you do plan for church on Sunday morning? You arrive clean-shaven and wrinkle free, and you don’t have to “put on your happy face”. You are at peace with your family, and you are emotionally available to worship and to serve.

Approaching your day without a plan is just like trying to get out of debt without a budget. And procrastination is like taking a loan out on time. You don’t know if you’ll have tomorrow to pay it back.