Pay Yourself First

There are only so many hours in the day. It's a thought that crosses my mind constantly. In fact, if I'd stop thinking about that, I might actually find another hour or two.

While the finite amount of time we have might be seen as an obstacle by some, it really is a blessing. Without knowing we only have so much time, would we ever get around to doing the important things? Or would we squander our time on daytime soaps, computer games, X-box, napping and the like?

The fact that we can only put off the things we MUST do for so long, we are pushed closer and closer to the cliff from which we know we have to jump as each hour comes to a close.

So in the battle for our time, who wins? Unfortunately it's also the squeeky wheel that gets the grease of time. What problem is shouting out the most? The bills? The kid's fever? The laundry in the hallway? The neighbor's dog that won't stop barking? The project with the closest deadline or the one with the biggest budget or the loudest boss? Somewhere in this high stakes poker game, let's not forget to lay down a few bets for ourselves.

Lately I've been staying up late, working on some computer programming projects. I stay up late because that's the only time I have for "me". But that's alright. I'd rather sacrifice two hours of sleep and live on six than to keep piling up the debt I owe myself to spend time with me.

But ... "computer programming"? Seriously?

Yes. It's a sickness to some, but to me it's a game. A puzzle. Some people like the crossword or word search or sudoku. I like ASP and PHP and MySQL databases and well, making a website do what I want it to do. And don't tell anyone, but sometimes these late-night projects are for someone else. I'm really just playing and seeing if I can solve the puzzle, but they call it work. It's "me" time, and it's important.

I'm not a "follow your bliss" kind of guy. That kind of stuff leads to hippies in vans following bands around the country in open fields. But I do think you should have that little something that is yours. Even if you have to find another hour in the day to do it.