20 Jan Budgeting Your Time and Money

In Vancouver we are just getting out of a month of sub-zero temperatures and from what I can tell, we are all tired of it. I spoke to a friend who recently returned to Vancouver from Toronto. I said she must be glad to be back in the relative warmth of Vancouver. She informed me that Toronto has been above zero. Meanwhile my back yard still had a foot of snow and my 60-year-old Magnolia tree is in pieces collapsed under the weight of it. Indeed, we all sometimes feel like collapsing under the weight of our burdens.

We are now well into January and, like me, many people have made New Year’s resolutions which are now piled in the corner like laundry waiting to cleaned and tried on again next year. What I hope to do today is elaborate on how you can remove some of your burdens and create some space in your world to relax and enjoy your success instead of constantly feeling like you cannot keep up.

The secret?

Budgeting your time and budgeting your money.  

A budget is simply a plan or expectation of future results. It gives you comfort that you are on a path instead of lost without direction.

Here are my top reasons to budget your money:

• It keeps you focused on the plan.
• It keeps you from spending recklessly.
• It will completely build a successful retirement.
• It removes stress.

I believe making a first budget should be very quick. If you do not have one now, anything is a step in the right direction. Give yourself 15 minutes to write a monthly budget using only these categories:

• Housing
• Travel
• Food and clothing
• Entertainment
• Saving

That is the first step and now you have something by which to guide your ship. It will grow and you will measure expectations, but if that is more than you are doing now – you have at least started the journey.

Here are my top reasons to budget your time:

• Your time is limited and like me, you try to stuff too much in.
• A time budget helps you say no to things you cannot achieve.
• It will keep you focused.
• It will reduce stress.

Just like the financial budget, I want this to be quick and easy so here are my key tips:

• Block off an hour each day for uninterrupted work time and take no appointments, answer no calls.
• Block off an hour each day to respond to communications (phone/ email).
• Reduce the number of places you use as an inbox (where you receive information, work and tasks) – ideally to one.

When you say yes to things that you cannot achieve you end up failing to meet expectations. The people relying on you are more troubled by that than by hearing, “Sorry, I cannot do that.” We learn this every day in public practice, yet will still act human again and again and this creates stress and failure.  

Today, make your first attempt to budget time and money.  If you need assistance call us, we can help.