#32 - Making Time Your Friend
Positioning
I did not want to write today.
It's Sunday afternoon and the sun is shining. I want to be outside, maybe in the park or in a beer garden. But it’s the only time I have before Tuesday morning to sit down and write. So here I am.
This isn’t a post about motivation, or doing things you don’t want to do. It’s a post about making time your friend.
Time is often the enemy. It’s either ticking by too quickly or too slowly. Nobody ever says, “Time is passing by just right.” Time means ageing, decay, and the ending of eras.
We never have enough time. It’s always running out. We want to turn back time and experience it all over again. We race the clock, need an extra hour in the day, and can’t believe it’s nearly the end of summer.
Ultimately, time is our overlord, in the end it will come for us all. Not having enough of it is why I’m sat at my desk when I’d rather be doing something fun in the sun.
Time is the enemy because it imposes limitations and adds tensity. It exacerbates challenges and means missed opportunities.
Now’s not a good time; time waits for no one; time is not on our side.
But that doesn’t need to be the case. And given it's an inevitability, it’s worth thinking hard about how to make time your friend.
As Shane Parrish writes in Clear Thinking… “Time is the friend of somebody who is properly positioned.”
Good things take time. Being well-positioned is one way to make time your friend. Long-term investors are the ones who win most consistently. Compound interest (the eigth wonder of the world) and the growth of investments over time can lead to significant accumulation.
If you’re in the right relationship, time is your friend. The relationship will grow stronger as you learn more about each other, learn to trust one another, and achieve things together.
Time is a factor in some of life’s most potent equations. Compounding is only possible with time. Time is also the partner to consistency, and consistency is the precursor improvement, expertise, and resilience. It’s why I’m here right now, making sure I don’t miss a week so that in a couple of years, I can look back with pride at the work that I have produced and the learnings that it brought.
10,000 hours, 10,000 reps. According to Malcolm Gladwell “10,000 hours of practice is the magic number for true expertise”. I question whether anyone can achieve expertise after 10,000 hours pratice, or whether the number is big enough such that only those who are being given sufficient greenlights to continue in their pursuit actually continue. Either way, expertise is only possible with time.
In the right conditions, time leads to growth, maturity and enrichment.
Time heals. Physically, injuries heal over time. Emotionally, after experiencing loss or trauma, time helps process emotions, allowing wounds to close and providing perspective.
Knowing that our time is finite can also be a great unlock. In 40 or 50 years, everyone whose opinion you’re worried about will be dead. Momento Mori, remember you will die, is a core stoic mantra that encourages you to remember that time is finite. This can act as a motivator to ensure you’re squeezing everything you can out of life’s lemons.
Take your time, give it time. Time is the best teacher.
Our situations are all unique. But I promise you, it’s worthwhile considering the question: How can I make time, my friend?
Let’s get it this week. See you next Tuesday. ✌🏻❤️