Pay Yourself First: Another Way to Think about Time Management

photo credit: me and the sysop

You’ve probably heard of the “pay yourself first” idea before. It’s common advice in the personal finance world, since it’s a great way to save. When you pay yourself first, you ensure that you always get a cut of each paycheck, even before the phone company, insurance office, and local pizzeria do. It’s an excellent way to force yourself to save money (essentially, you bill yourself instead settling for the leftovers), and it’s an elegant philosophy.

Take “Pay Yourself First” a Step Further

If “pay yourself first” has helped millions of people to build monetary wealth (it’s a cornerstone of David Bach’s The Automatic Millionaire), can it also help them build a richer life? I think so.

Imagine having a guaranteed time each day just for yourself, to do whatever you’d like. You could indulge yourself, meditate, play a game, catch up with a friend, or simply stare at the walls and breathe deeply. Who has time for that, though? You’ve got to cook dinner, toss in a load of laundry, catch your favorite show, and spend time with the family.

Who Has Time for That? You Do

Unless you’re the President, you do have the time for these blissful moments. However, too many of us place a higher priority on taking care of tasks that have clear and tangible benefits. So taking time to catch your breath and steal a smile gets put on the back burner again. And again. And again. The unfortunate end result of this self-sacrifice is impatience and unhappiness.

If you want to make time for yourself, you’ve got to prioritize it. Just as you can pay yourself first from each paycheck, you can also pay yourself first in your daily schedule. As you pencil appointments in your calendar or create a daily to-do list, include a specific time for yourself. It can be as little as 15 minutes or as much as you need. The trick is to physically schedule yourself in first, before anything else. Everything else can (and will) be scheduled around your dedicated time. You’ll find that you still get everything done, and you’re also having a lot more fun while you’re at it.

Make It Stick with Visual Reminders

It’s well-known that writing something down makes it more memorable. If you don’t specifically write down your scheduled personal time, there’s a pretty good chance that you’ll let something else take priority. So get t it in writing. You can:

• Keep a daily “To Do” list
• Mark it on your daily planner
• Schedule it on the monthly family calendar
• Set a reminder on your phone
• Create a task on Backpack

One of the best reasons to actually mark down this appointment is that not only will you respect the appointment, but your family, friends, and coworkers will as well. That’s the bottom line: to take control of your own time, you need to prioritize what’s truly important and stick to it. The dishes can wait. The lawn can get an inch taller. But you’ve got to start living your life today. Don’t just hope for a few stolen minutes during a lull. Take back your time by paying yourself first.