A day is considered to be the amount of time it takes the earth to rotate once around its axis. This rotation takes 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4.1 seconds, which is exactly 86,164.1 seconds long. If you measure the length of a day in solar time, it varies depending on the time of the year. – Reference.com/science

When it comes to budgeting money, there are really only three main things we can do:

Spend it, Save it, or Give it.

When it comes to budgeting time, there is a major difference. We can only spend time in activities of our choosing.

We cannot give from our reserve of time to others to extend theirs, and unfortunately we cannot save it. We are only ever spending.

This is why budgeting time is perhaps even more important than budgeting money. It may not feel like it sometimes, but your ability to earn money is essentially unlimited. Time, however, is a finite resource and perhaps our greatest gift.

Author Annie Dillard said: “How we spend our days is of course how we spend our lives.”

You have about 86,000 seconds in a day. Look back on the last 10 years of your life. Which of the following thoughts apply to you:

1. I wish I had spent more time making money.
2. I wish I had spent more time with my family.
3. I wish I had spent more time with friends.
4. I wish I had spent more time reading books.
5. I wish I had spent more time working.
6. I wish I had spent more time listening, really listening to my kids.
7. I wish I had spent more time gardening.
8. I wish I had spent more time on Facebook.
9. I wish I had spent more time looking at my phone.

If some of these items seem ridiculous to you, then why do we aggregate more time throughout the week on Facebook or at work than with family or reading?

This is not a judgement on social media or the need to provide, simply an examination of priorities.

86,000 seconds. 

That’s the gift you have today. How will you spend it?