Am I Time-Poor?

So on the weekend I get a call from an old work colleague who I haven't heard from or seen in almost 10 months. We get talking, asking about work, and stuff and he mentions that he's contracting these days as his business is doing well and devotes time to do that. During our conversation he says something along the lines that he's on track to quit his 'day-job' in five years and be independantly earning a good living from his MLM business. Im like cool, good onya. So he asks me where my current job will lead me to? I told him I've got some specific goals and I have a fair idea I know what I want to do etc etc. (He also works in the I.T. industry). He goes on to say "so your probably very time poor in your current job and always will be when working in a job". Now at this point I told him, "No, infact Ive got more time than ever to do stuff. Plus with my curent role, I work 4 days off and then 4 days off, so it works out really well".

So what does time poor mean exactly. Basically its saying that your lifestyle, work, responsibilities etc, do not allow you to adequately devote time to other things that may be of your interest or leisure. Eg: Your timepoor if your so busy you cant find time to read a book, or do a painting, or you find it hard to go-out and participate in social events.

The mention of being time-poor actually ticked me off a little. Why? Well, I think its a common misconception that people who are working in a 'job', are time poor because they're stuck in a "routine" that barely gives them time to achieve their goals, dreams and aspirations. I know a few people who are running business and they're probably more time-poor than anyone in a job. Heck, I reckon even people like uni-students are time poor. I dont think being time-poor is restricted to just those working in a job.

Now I should let you in on a small matter of note and that is, this guy works in a MLM (multi-level marketing) business (hint: Starts with A and has five letters). These guys commonly use the term 'timepoor' to make you feel bad and then they try to sell how you can achieve your dreams of being financially secure and be time rich if you join their business. Mind you many people are doing are very well from this type of work and are very happy. Some people (like me for instance) join to try it out and realise its not entirely suitable for the type of person that I am.

Okay, so the question I ask myself is am I time-poor?? My answer is yes and no. Yes AND no? I believe your time-poor regardless if your stuck in a routine or not. If I am not managing my time and not writing goals to set out what I want to do with my time, well then yes I'm time poor. Simple. But, if I am writing down goals, actively working on these goals and crossing off my to-do list, then surely if I am relatively efficient at doing this, I can find time to schedule other things that I normally wouldnt be able to do. There are a lot of factors including but not restricted to the following such as,

• prioritising your time and tasks,
  
• being realistic about what you want to do and how much time and effort it may require,
• try to be flexible. You dont want to become so monotonous in your life that there is no spontaniety left.
  

Thus my yes and no answer. I am trying to better myself in becoming more efficient with my time, but I believe I'm no-where near as efficient as I would like to be. I'd say it'll take me another 12 months minimum to become even better at managing and organising my time. Take this blog entry for example, Ive done everything that I had wanted to do and now im writing about this particular topic because I wanted to. Im just starting my weekend (yes its Monday, I know. Ive got Tuesday and Wednesday off).

In conclusion if someone says your timepoor, think about it before you answer. Are you really?? It will take discipline and some hard work to become good at managing your time, once you start doing this and become good at, there is no reason for you to say your time poor. Live a life of no-regrets and hopefully you'll never hear yourself say "I wish I had the time to this" OR "I wish I had done that when I had the time" etc.


The real reason for this guys call, to basically get me to renew my "business" subscription. I told him straight up, I got the renewal letter and Im not interested. Its just not my thing. He was dissapointed to hear this.