In economics, there’s a concept called opportunity cost. When economist refer to the opportunity cost of a resource, they mean the value of the next-highest-valued alternative use of that resource. An example of this would be working at a job that paid $90k when your skill set in the market demands $120k. Working the $90k dollar job and taking home $60k after taxes isn’t bad (unless you live in Cali). You’re making a net positive but, you’re still losing money because your time is worth more. Weighing the opportunity cost is very important in our decision making and most of us do it subconsciously on a daily basis. Gym in the morning or one more hour of sleep? we all pick one based on the value we give each task for our overall well-being.
The reason I found this important enough to write about; is due to the fact I’m trying a slightly different approach to making decisions. Once I started valuing my time more, I started see my productivity increase and, I had the ability to tell more people no to things I truly didn’t feel was worth my time (or I just didn’t want to do). This was definitely a breakthrough but, then I hit a wall. I would then incessantly worry about getting the most out of my time. In the middle of my work day, when I wasn’t as productive as I wanted to be, I would start to worry which only made it worse. For me, worrying is the biggest energy drain bar none.
That’s when I read a quote on IG that said “manage energy not time” and, it worked. This concept of managing my energy and not the time on the clock has helped me control my habit of forcing things. When I’m stressed out about having a lot on my plate; doing absolutely nothing at all has been the greatest remedy. Crazy right? When we (me atleast) aren’t being productive in an activity or can’t seem to find the self-control to stay focused; there is a tendency to run to another simpler activity we can control. For me that can be playing some random game on my phone or eating chocolate (Love it). This is probably the worst thing I can do though. Instead of recharging, I let what energy I do have seep out on an activity that isn’t getting any of my problems solved. Being our most productive selves just isn’t realistic. I think our Circadian rhythm has something to do with it (you can look that part up). So, in summary manage your energy not time unless your task is really time-sensitive, which is most of us. If that’s you, then you might have to make some adjustments to the concept. Feel free to message me about what you come up with!
