Is Time Management and Money Mangement Related?

For the last…I don’t know exactly…but for the last little bit, I’ve been observing how different people in my life manage their time and manage their money. I’ve asked nearly everyone I know to comment on this topic. It seems time and $$$ are synonymous. One can often conclude much about a person by how timely they are. I’m not saying if you agree to meet a friend at Starbucks and they are 20 minutes late that they are poor money managers. But if they are late to meet you nearly every time, you might begin to think something’s going on.

I’m not a scientist here, so please, whatever my musings and ponderings might be, they are just mine. That’s it. But think about it.

I’m not certain a conclusion can be drawn for young people whose patterns are not yet firmly established but after 4 or 5 decades, it gives one pause. Is it a glimpse into the inner priorities, or lack thereof?

As I’ve personally observed, or as I’ve interviewed folks about their observations, nearly EVERYONE agrees that those who are good time managers also tend to manage their finances well. And visa versa. Now I’m not saying that good money managers actually HAVE piles of cash or the equivalent, but what they do have they are managing well.

Let’s face it, there are times when life happens, the car breaks down, the AC stops working or we get sick and all hell breaks loose. People do lose their jobs, lose their house, their health, their family and the next thing you know they are living on the street. I AM NOT SUGGESTING THAT THESE PEOPLE ARE POOR MANAGERS OF TIME OR MONEY! These are tragic circumstances and I send you blessings right now if this is you or someone you love.  

But what if the car breaks down because I failed to do regular maintenance? What if the AC fails because I failed to change the filter regularly? What if I get sick because of my poor nutritional intake or poor care-taking (management) of my body? Is the $$$ required to remedy these situations my legitimate responsibility?

Though I’m ok at managing my money now…there’s so little of it, that it’s an easy job. But I haven’t always been exactly stellar in that department. Just ask my ex-husband. I’m certain he’d be ecstatic to fill you in on all the gory, bloody details of my $$$ mis-management. We learn as we go.

Or not.

Yesterday, in church, my minister spoke about how our relationship with money is often parallel to our relationship with our own soul. This is the directly from the website:

            “Notice how you spend and how you receive. Notice the energy you are conveying when you are doing the task of paying bills or sending a check somewhere. If you are not already, begin to bring a sacred energy to the task. Bless your purse or your wallet and give thanks for the spiritual substance, or money that you are giving and receiving. It can be very simple like "Thank you God for spiritual substance!" And then visioning your wallet or purse full, so that you can take care of your needs and support the needs of others. What a blessing. You will be very surprised at how this shifts everything! And, when you give and receive freely, your life will be blessed beyond measure.”

And so what about time? How is it related? Each and every one of us has a finite amount of time given to us each day. How we spend it determines out priorities, just like how we spend our money determines our priorities. We can use each hour wisely, each dollar wisely…or we might not. Only you can think through and determine if a change or two might benefit your life.

Just as we’ve been counseled to keep a small notebook and write down every cent spent, the same kind of notebook can be used to write down what you do each hour of the day. Now if you work a regular type job, perhaps those hours are already accounted for. However, we all have unaccounted hours that might need to be examined more closely.

Just saying…think about it.