Dr. Seuss once said, “How did it get so late so soon? It’s night before its afternoon. December is here before its June. My goodness, how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?”

This quote perfectly captures how I feel about this past year—it’s flown by faster than any year I can remember. What’s puzzling, though, is that while time usually seems to speed up when I’m busy, this year has been the least hectic I’ve had in decades. And yet, it’s still “flewn” by!

Understanding the Value of Our Inheritance

Recently, my sense of how quickly time seems to be passing has pushed me to reconsider how I spend my days, weeks, and months. Just like I approach financial planning with care and discipline, I’ve made it a priority to do the same with how I invest my time.

But managing time is trickier than money. With finances, I know my balances and can choose how much to save, invest, or spend. Time, on the other hand, comes with no such clarity. I don’t know how much is left in my “time account,” and once it’s spent, there’s no earning it back.

From the moment we’re born, we all receive a unique inheritance: time. Regardless of our economic status, we’re each given a deposit into our “time account.” The catch is, we have no idea what the balance is.

As a child, I believed my time account was endless. I spent it carelessly, as most do when they’re young. But as I’ve grown older, I’ve come to realize that this account only shrinks over time, no matter how wisely I invest it. The principle of scarcity creating value applies to my time now more than ever—these days, my time is worth more to me than money.

I suspect this value will only grow as I age, face health challenges, or receive news that predicts the remaining balance in my account. Until then, I’m focused on making every minute count and increasing the value of this precious inheritance I’ve been given.

Using Time to Achieve Big Results

For much of my career, my time was “valued by the output of physical goods.” Early on, I was taught to complete a “task document” (or green sheet) every week. This t-doc tracked how every hour of my workday was spent, with the goal of having 90-100% of my time billable to clients. This exercise was my first lesson in time management and understanding the value of my time.

To hit my billable targets, I spent most of my time outside of work reading, learning, and networking to ensure I had the knowledge, skills, and connections to maximize my value. The good news? These investments paid off. I stayed busy, billing clients who needed my expertise.

But there was a cost. The non-monetary outcomes of my success led to an interesting mix of personal changes. On the one hand, the demand for my skills boosted my confidence. On the other hand, the fear that this demand might not last made me nervous.

Working globally expanded my understanding and empathy for diverse perspectives and deepened my confidence. However, the increased demand for my time and expertise brought challenges. This overextended schedule often led me to communicate more directly than intended. What I saw as efficiency, others sometimes perceived as blunt or cold. At time, I made others feel dismissed—far from the experience I wanted to create for those working with me.

My ride through Corporate America was filled with excitement and growth, but it was also a balancing act. While some saw me as impatient, it was more about my eagerness to reach the next big milestone, always looking around the corner for what was coming next

Eventually it all caught up with me. I had been withdrawing too heavily from my “time account” in pursuit of productivity and results, leaving little left for the things that truly mattered. My life fell out of balance—my body hurt, I could hardly exercise, and my concentration waned. I struggled to stick to my personal goals. In focusing so much on maximizing output, I had unintentionally depleted my most valuable asset—my health and well-being.

Diversifying Your Investment Strategy

When I reached a point of exhaustion, I realized that despite all my time management efforts, I had been valuing time the wrong way. I needed to diversify my time investment strategy to achieve different returns. In a moment of clarity, I uncovered four key truths:

1. I have the capability to make more money to provide for myself and my family.
2. I need to preserve my mental and physical health in order to care for myself and my family.
3. I cannot make more time—my time account is a finite, fixed resource.
4. I can make the most of the time I have in my account, enhancing its value and quality through how I choose to live.

These truths gave me a fresh perspective on how I want to live the rest of my days, weeks, and years—however many I have left. They also helped me to recognize that time is now more valuable to me than money.

My personal goal remains aligned with my professional one: to be someone people turn to for support, even if what they need from me now differs from what they sought over the past three decades. I am more mindful of how I use my time, focusing on making meaningful contributions that leave both me and those around me feeling more connected and enriched than ever before.

Developing a Foundation for Success

So, what does the planning and investment in my time account look like now? How do I spend my time these days? Honestly, it took nearly a year to find the focus I needed to make smarter, more intentional decisions about how to invest my time. But I eventually built a strong foundation with a few key building blocks:

1. I prioritized sleep. This provided the reset I needed, and cleared away the fog. I stopped setting an alarm in the morning and let go of pressure to finish everything on my to-do list at night. Rest became more important than productivity.
2. I discovered my life’s purpose. By identifying what truly brings me joy, I invest my time more deliberately.
3. I set diverse goals. These goals span multiple areas of my life, including religion, physical health, learning, relationships, and financial stability. I suspect my goals will evolve over time, but for now, they keep me focused and balanced.

With these building blocks in place, I feel energized and excited again, much like The Mayor and Boom Boom as they embark on new adventures in their young lives. And now, I’m confident that I’m putting my time inheritance to far better use.

Making More Moments Count

Is the way I’m investing my time changing how fast it seems to pass? We often hear, “time flies when you’re having fun.” Perhaps that’s why Dr. Seuss’s quote hits home for me now. In these past few months, I’ve approached life differently—planning my time with more intention and aligned to what brings me joy. The result? I feel younger, healthier, and more energized. It makes me wonder: could this mindset actually stretch out my experience of time, giving me more value from my remaining balance? I suppose only time will tell.

In the meantime, I invite you to put on your headphones, open your favorite music app, and search for Time Stand Still by Rush. This song was a favorite of mine as a teenager, but now it’s become my personal anthem. The lyrics capture the essence of what I’ve come to appreciate: it’s not about the amount of time we have, but about finding those rare moments that truly matter.

Listen closely, and see if the words don’t rush (pun intended) through your mind in times of pure joy, when you wish you could pause everything and savor the moment just a little longer. The lyrics say it perfectly:

“Time stand still
See more of the people and the places that surround me now
Time stand still
Freeze this moment a little bit longer
Make each sensation a little bit stronger.”

In the end, maybe the secret to managing time isn’t about slowing it down—but about making more moments count.