I created Living ROI as a passion, to share my experiences and support others who want to live more authentic, joyful and fulfilling lives.
Dear Friends,
I heard this saying in relation to a video conversation between Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. My reaction was, “Ouch! Damn if I haven’t been chronically busy.” Bill was talking about how amazed he was when he saw Warren’s calendar, which has plenty of space for thinking and reading.
Warren says, “People are going to want your time. It’s the only thing you can’t buy. I can buy anything I want, basically, but I can’t buy time…I better be careful with it because there is no way I’m going to be able to buy more time.”
Jason Fried, Founder and CEO at Basecamp, a project management software company, had this to say on the topic of owning your own time: “At Basecamp, everyone controls their own calendar, and no one can see anyone else’s schedule. You can’t claim time on anyone else’s calendar, either. Other people’s time isn’t for you — it’s for them. You can’t take it, chip away at it, or block it off. Everyone’s in control of their time. They can give it to you, but you can’t take it from them.”
I love that approach. I already do it by blocking open time I have on my calendar so people can’t invite me to a meeting without asking if I’m available—then I can determine if I need to attend the meeting. Nonetheless, my calendar is usually packed.
I’m going to talk with my team, when I get back from vacation (I wrote this newsletter before I left), about evaluating and questioning every meeting we attend. We should all ask ourselves, “Is it a good use of our time? Can we shorten the meeting or have it less frequently?” Often our best ideas and breakthroughs come in the space between meetings.
I also try to schedule “thinking and reading time,” but I haven’t stuck with it. This is a great reminder!
About ten years ago my life coach gave me an assignment to just sit for 30 minutes. She told me not to try to do anything. Don’t meditate. Just sit. It was amazing. I remember it was February; I was gazing out the window and it was cold and rainy outside. One BIG thought came to mind: “When our kids have graduated high school, I’d like to spend a month or more in the southern hemisphere during the depth of winter at home.”
Boom! We’re in South America as you read this—not for a month, but it’s a start. And, seriously, it is because of that 30 minutes of just doing nothing ten years ago! I plan to do a lot of that “nothing” on my vacation.
Do you have time to just think?
Wishing you time without distraction!
Barbara Fagan-Smith
CEO, ROI Communication
Chief Catalyst, Living ROI
