Tag Archives: Time

Defying the Age Timeline

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Did you know the currencies of Money, Health, Time & Energy follow a timeline in our lives?

It’s not an exact science but it is a pattern that will hold true for most of us – unless we do something to change the pattern.

The timeline is as follows,

  • In youth we have lots of time & energy, our health is in peak shape but we have very little money
  • In middle age we have money, health & energy but we are time poor. The health & energy we have isn’t what it was in our youth and has started to decline
  • In old age we have money that has been accumulated over our lifetime and we have lots of spare time but our health & energy will be diminished

This timeline is explained further below,

YOUTH:

We have lots of spare time in our youth as we don’t have many responsibilities. This means we have the gift of a huge amount of time – what freedom!

We have optimum health & lots of energy just by the nature of being young.

We spend most of our youth in some form of education and when we start working we do so at the bottom of the salary scale, moving on up that scale throughout our working lives – this means in youth we have very little money.

I think this timeline is pretty accurate – in my youth I had excellent health, loads of energy and lots of free time but very little money. Most people’s youth is probably similar to this.

MIDDLE AGE:

The timeline suggests that in middle age we have money, energy and health but we are TIME POOR.

In middle age we are possibly earning and have accumulated a certain amount of money. More than likely we have less time and our health & energy will naturally start to decline.

In this stage of life earning more money may come at the cost of having less time.

As I moved into middle age where I am now I became TIME POOR – REALLY TIME POOR!

This absence of time didn’t suit me and so I left my day job, one of the reasons being to gain more time. The financial cost of leaving my day job was one I was more than willing to pay in exchange for the precious gift of time.

Moving through middle age my health isn’t what it was in my 20’s and 30’s. Yes I’m relatively fit and healthy but all sorts of ailments are starting to appear!

In terms of energy, I do not have the same energy I had in my youth. The energy I have now is different, I would call it more vitality than energy.

OLD AGE:

In old age we have money that has been accumulated over our lifetime and we have lots of spare time but our health & energy won’t be what it was in our youth or middle age.

We have lots of spare time as our work will have slowed down or we will have retired from work altogether.

Our health & energy, no matter how well we look after it, will have declined over the previous decades.

I have a few years to go before I reach old age but going by this timeline what is waiting for me is money & time but no health or energy to enjoy it!

IS THIS WHAT I WANT?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!

So, how do I change the timeline that seems to ring true for every stage of life?

How do I create my own timeline?

I prioritise where I spend & how I improve the currencies of Time, Energy, Health & Money.

  • Here in middle age the priority is to gain more time and to have sufficient money, health and energy to enjoy this time
  • To avoid what is waiting for me in old age the priority is to improve my health & energy so that I can enjoy my time and money

The above will be a balancing act and a work in progress for the rest of my life but hopefully one that will pay dividends here in middle age and throughout the years ahead.

What do the currencies of money, health, time & energy mean to you?

Can you see the above timelines in your own life?

Do you want to defy the age timeline and create your own timeline?

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Thanks for reading,

Siobhain

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The Currency of Time

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The Currency of Time

What does the currency of time mean to you?

TIME is finite yet TIME is infinite.

We all have the same 24 hours in a day and 365 days in a year yet no one knows how many years we have in our lifetime.

This isn’t something most people think about on a daily basis but none of us have infinite TIME.

THERE IS A TIME LIMIT FOR US ALL.

One of my favourite quotes is from Jim Rohn,

‘Time is more valuable than money. You can always get more money, but you cannot get more time.’ ​

Prior to Covid I was working full-time, juggling many side hustles and living life at an unsustainable speed. This level of over working impacted the amount of time I had to spend on all other areas of my life.

I was absolutely TIME POOR!

In 2020, Covid slowed down all of our lives and I enjoyed not running & racing around trying to get everything done. I started to really enjoy the gift of time instead of always complaining about its absence and how I needed more.

I then left the working world in October 2021 and I received the most precious gift – THE GIFT OF TIME.

The GIFT OF TIME is truly one of the greatest gifts I have ever received and I want to ensure I get to enjoy this precious gift at this level for the rest of my life.

Whilst we can’t make more time we can absolutely utilise our time to ensure we are only spending it where we want to spend it.

  • We can’t create more time but we can certainly have more TIME FREEDOM by increasing our MONEY, HEALTH & ENERGY wealth
  • Having more HEALTH & ENERGY means you can enjoy your time more
  • Having more MONEY means you have more options in terms of where you spend your time

One of the most important elements of the currency of TIME is how much of your own TIME you give to yourself.

  • It’s very important to give yourself the precious GIFT OF TIME
  • Your TIME belongs to you and you decide how you spend it
  • How much TIME in your day is solely used for yourself?
  • How much TIME do you plan every day for yourself?

My favourite episode of the Diary of a CEO podcast is the one with Jimmy Carr titled ‘The Easiest Way To Live A Happier Life’. Jimmy is not only a genius comedian but also a deep philosophical thinker who is wise beyond his age and time. I’ve watched this interview on YouTube many times and my favourite part is where Steven asks Jimmy what he thought happiness was.

Jimmy simply said,

‘Happiness is enjoying the passage of time’

How fabulous is that? 

Imagine, the sheer simplicity of happiness being enjoying the passage of our precious resource of time. I absolutely love this philosophy and have infused this philosophy throughout every aspect of my life since I first heard it.

To enjoy the passage of time, we must first be aware of and have the precious resource of time.

How important is the CURRENCY OF TIME to you?

Do you give yourself enough of THE GIFT OF TIME?

Download your FREE EBOOK The A-Z of Effective Change below and you are all signed up to my weekly newsletter where I share thoughts and resources on all things effective change 😊

Thanks for reading,

Siobhain

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The Currency of Money

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If someone asked you what your currency is, chances are you might say the currency of your country which in my case is euro.  

​What if the question was – what are your currencies for life?
​My answer to this would be MONEY, HEALTH, TIME & ENERGY

I haven’t earned money since I left work in October 2021 and while I know I need money to function in the world, not focusing on money as the only currency of my life has opened up a whole new world.​

This whole new world allows me to focus on the other currencies of my life which are HEALTH, TIME & ENERGY.

We all need money but money has limitations.

Money can only buy material things. No matter how much money we have, money cannot buy the important things in life. 

We spend a huge amount of our lives working which is trading our precious time for money.

This is something we all need to do but how much of our HEALTH, TIME & ENERGY do we want to trade for this money? 

For 25 years I worked for various companies trading my time for money. Sometimes I traded way more HEALTH, TIME & ENERGY than I was being paid for. 

I am grateful for what these jobs afforded me, what I learned, the skills I built and the friendships I made. However giving so much of my time and trading my time for money no longer suits me and the thoughts of spending 50+ hours working for someone else makes me incredibly anxious and on edge.

I am passionate about many things but I don’t want work to take up such a large portion of my life and time anymore. 

The other areas of my life are so important that I want to dedicate sufficient time to them – Sense of Self, Health, Relationships, Finance, Experiences/Fun, Environment & Contribution – see my Wheel of Life below. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also want to dedicate more time to the other 3 currencies of my life – HEALTH, TIME & ENERGY.  

Going forward I will focus on how much of my HEALTH, TIME & ENERGY I am willing to trade for MONEY.

When evaluating my work I will be asking the following questions,  

  • How much HEALTH will this cost me?
  • How much TIME will this cost me?
  • How much ENERGY will this cost me?

As important as money may be, it’s worth noting that no matter how much money we have, money cannot buy the other currencies of HEALTH, TIME & ENERGY.

  • MONEY CANNOT BUY HEALTH

Money can allow us the freedom to learn more about health, to learn how to optimise our health and give us time to improve our health but it cannot buy any element of our health for us.

Money can buy better healthcare but not better HEALTH.

HEALTH IS NOT FOR SALE! 

  • MONEY CANNOT BUY TIME

Money can allow us to have more time freedom (which is very important) but we cannot buy more time in our day and certainly not any more time in our lifetime.

When time is spent, it’s gone – no amount of money can buy it back.  

TIME IS NOT FOR SALE

  • MONEY CANNOT BUY ENERGY

Money cannot optimise or give us more energy. 

We don’t have infinite energy in our day, our energy levels will fluctuate depending on how we live our lives. 

We may get a temporary buzz of energy from buying material things and consuming high energy stuff but this is short-lived energy spikes. 

ENERGY IS NOT FOR SALE.

How important is the CURRENCY OF MONEY to you?

How much HEALTH, TIME & ENERGY do you trade for this money?

Are you happy with the balance?

If you are looking for some excellent books on finance I highly recommend the following,

How To Be Good With Money by Eoin McGee

This is a super book that would financially benefit everyone if it was taught in school. Eoin is all about getting the financial basics right then building on them to work towards and achieve financial freedom. Eoin explains all elements of personal finance in an easy to understand, no jargon way which makes this book such an enjoyable read.

Eoin is a super guy to follow on Instagram and he does a Q&A every week which is really helpful. Eoin also runs his own financial consultancy Prosperous, where you can take advantage of those who know best in the financial world to improve your finances.

Money – Master the Game by Tony Robbins 

This book goes into finance in great depth. Finance is not my favourite subject and so I skipped a few chapters as I didn’t enjoy or understand them. Listening to this on audible made this easy to do. As well as chapters I didn’t understand there were chapters that I loved and listened to over and over again. 

Chapter 8 is one of the chapters I loved. It is all about financial freedom and it is worth buying this book for this chapter alone. Tony walks through the simple steps of financial freedom and explains really well how it’s not as difficult to achieve as you may think.

This is an excellent book for those who want to dive a bit deeper into finance and financial freedom.

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill 

Think and Grow Rich is a literary masterpiece first published in 1937. It’s as much a book about success and manifestation as it is about money. Napoleon Hill’s storytelling is unique and captivating and his 13 step formula for success is easy to understand – implementation takes a bit more work!

This is the type of book that you can read over and over again as you go deeper and deeper into the wisdom shared by Napoleon Hill.

A must read for anyone serious about financial freedom!

Mindset by Carol Dwecke

I truly believe that having a growth mindset is the first step to reaching financial goals. 

While this book isn’t solely about finance it does go a long way to explaining the necessity of a growth mindset in terms of financial success. This book teaches the difference and the inevitable consequences of having a growth mindset or a fixed mindset in all elements of life including business, parenting, school and relationships. 

An absolute brilliant book that I highly recommend no matter what your interests are.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Rober T. Kiyosaki

I found many similarities between this book and Mindset in terms of the importance of a growth and abundance mindset when it comes to finance. 

This is a very easy read as the lessons it teaches are told through a brilliant story. The financial teachings are easy to understand and jargon free which is how I like to learn about finance.

A super read no matter what your level of personal financial knowledge is. 

Download your FREE EBOOK The A-Z of Effective Change below and you are all signed up to my weekly newsletter where I share thoughts and resources on all things effective change 😊

Thanks for reading,

Siobhain

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Time

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Thanks to the brilliant Andy Kefford for the above image

As mentioned in previous posts, sustainable change takes time, lots of time.

If you want to make change you will need to protect your time like a lioness protects her new-born cub! Your time belongs to you, it is solely yours and only you can decide where your time goes.

Sometimes we give so freely of our time that it becomes someone else’s and we are left wondering where it went!!

Would you give your money away as freely as you give your time? I didn’t think so!!

One of my all time favourite quotes is by Jim Rohn, 

‘Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time’ Jim Rohn

This quote is so true and is especially pertinent when you are going through personal or professional change.

Take time to think, time to plan, time to ensure your decisions are the right ones for you, ensure your time remains your own and is spent wisely on bringing the change you are working towards into being.

Who uses your time?

is it the same person who uses your money?

Something to think about!

Want to read more?

Download your free e-book ‘The A-Z of Effective Change’ below. 

Thanks for reading,

Siobhain

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The Pomodoro Technique

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Image Credit: Madhuri Gupta

I have been using the Pomodoro Technique for many years and I find it keeps me focused, on track, organised and helps me to get things done efficiently and effectively.  

So what is The Pomodoro technique and how does it work?

The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s to help utilise time more effectively. Work is broken down into intervals usually 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks.

Each interval is known as a ‘pomodoro’ (Italian word for ‘tomato’) named after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer that Cirillo used when he discovered the method.

For anyone who tends to procrastinate (which is more than likely most of us at some time) this is an excellent technique as it gives structure and urgency to tasks.

Below are a list of benefits from using the Pomodoro Technique,

  • Makes your work more organised and supports better planning of tasks as you need to plan out your work one pomodoro at a time
  • Gives urgency to tasks as you are very much aware of the amount of time you have to get tasks done
  • Ensures you take sufficient breaks – it is suggested to take short breaks (not exactly coffee breaks!) in between each pomodoro and a longer break at the end of 4 pomodoros – you can decide what timings work best for you
  • Increases focus and concentration by reducing interruptions – it’s best to turn off all distractions during pomodoros (e-mails/social media/phone etc) 
  • Increases focus as the more you use pomodoros, the more you will realise how long it takes to get tasks done (we tend to underestimate how long it takes to get tasks done)
  • Increases focus as usually one pomodoro is used for one task which naturally helps us to prioritise
  • Increases motivation – we are motivated by getting things done and the Pomodoro Technique certainly supports getting things done
  • The more you use it, the more you will evolve and change it to suit your own working style

There are many apps and websites available that support the Pomodoro Technique, I use Pomodoro Tracker which is really easy to use.

Do you think the Pomodoro Technique could help you get more tasks done effectively and efficiently? 

Do you use the Pomodoro Technique? If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts on it.

Want to read more about Positive Change?

Download your free e-book ‘The A-Z of Effective Change’ below

Thanks for reading,

Siobhain 

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