If Hours are Currency...

...which they are, how are you spending them? Time is the only true currency. We exchange time for money, things, experiences.

Time is the only true currency and we only have a finite amount of it. We can improve the value or return on investment of our currency, getting more value from time spent. We can actively manage our asset (our time) and ensure we get the most out of every hour or, like money, we can let it slip through our fingers not knowing where it went.

How is your time being 'spent'? Are you getting the most value from every hour as you use it up and it's gone? Or do you drift along letting the hours pass by in an endless succession of mudane, value-less activities?

TV uses your time 'currency'. Is TV watching a 'great' experience or is it more frequently 1 to 3 hours per day (1095 hours per year) spent clicking through the channels trying to find something worth watching? Some really enjoy their television and ensure that they watch shows that they love and that they spend no time watching commercials. Others click, click, click through hours of their lives. I don't watch TV because I fell out of the habit when I moved to England 7 years ago (my habitual shows weren't there anymore and I never picked up the habit again), that's no TV at all in seven years. No, I take that back. We were in a hotel room in Miami a few weeks ago and noticed that there were 90 channels, and thought we might like to watch something. We scanned every single one of those 90 channels and didn't find a thing that would have been more interesting than a walk on the beach or a coffee with some conversation and people watching. Is TV watching a great experience for you, giving you a great return on your time currency investment or is it simply an unthinking habit that you've fallen into along the way?

There are other time 'spends' that may not thoughtfully happen. Commuting time, for example, or extra time (uncompensated time) put in at work, time spent running errands that could be done better online, etc. The key message here is that time is the only currency, once it's spent, it's gone. Are you 'spending' your time the way you want to?