May 19 2003
Time & money
Colin recently showed me a pie chart of his typical day and how it changed on the weekend. Of course, this immediately made me think of what my own pie chart would look like. Over the past month, it has pretty much looked like this. To quote A.A. Milne again, “When he put it that way, Christopher Robin saw how it was.” No wonder I have had no time to do anything at all amusing, or even much of the “everything else” category for the past month. Look how teeny that slice of pie is! Hardly enough to keep an anorexic alive.
It also got me thinking about the concepts of time and money. We seem to think of them and express them in much the same way. You spend both time and money. You even budget both (though without marked success, in my case). Some people get time off instead of money to make up for overtime worked (again, not me). Some people even say: “Time is money.”
I don’t know about that, but I do think that they have to pay you to be at work not only because of irritating necessities like having to pay rent and buy food, but because they are essentially asking you to give up much of your awake time to be there. This seems to be more evidence that time does equal money.
It’s an interesting idea that you can spend time as if it were money. Every day you wake up and are given 24 hours. Granted, there are things you must do or should do in that time period, but as a concept, it’s yours to spend.
I’m hoping that my pie chart during my fast-approaching Birthday Week (only two shopping weeks left!) will look like this instead.
If it’s true that I can choose how to spend the time I have, that’s it.
*Includes: errands, such as shopping and going to the cleaner’s; making dinner; dealing with Mom Crises; talking to friends; bathing & grooming; mail, e- and otherwise; and all other necessary daily et ceteras.