The paradox of time and money

The belief that time is money is popular and often used to justify rushing and encourage productivity, but what if we ask the opposite question: if time is money, is money, time? If it is, then time and money are interchangeable and equally valuable, but if it isn’t, then which is more valuable or what is the relationship between the two?

This reflection is relevant when trying to find a balance between discipline and rest, dedication to a craft and dedication to our wellbeing, when making a schedule to fit in our work, for those who are privileged enough to be able to do that.

We spend time earning money, and if we follow the belief mentioned above, the less time we spend earning a fixed amount of money, the better. But what does money buy?

Paid resources - what does it really mean?

1- Think of where you spend your money. In my life, money buys my mortgage and bills, fuel (mostly to go to work, but also for adventures and day-to-day comfort), food, toiletries, house items, clothes, hobbies (courses, materials, trips), meals and coffees out, and gifts.

2- Go through the different items and ask yourself the question “Why do I buy/spend money on this item”, followed by “Why is that important”, as many times as you can answer it. The more basic the “item” is, the quicker you’ll get to the end of your self-questioning. For example “Why do I spend money on food?”, “Because I need food to survive”, and that’s the end of it. Although of course the question could be a little more complex, because there are different foods we can buy and different places where we can buy our food, and therefore several ways of satisfying the same need, but let’s not go on that massive tangent.

Take the following example:

• Why do I spend money on pottery supplies?

  Because I want to be able to do pottery at home

• Why is that important?

  Because I want access to a creative hobby at home

• Why is that important?

  Because being creative helps me disconnect from daily pressures

• Why is that important?

  Because when I am tired or stressed I have the tendency to engage in activities that provide instant gratification but don’t help me connect with myself or feel more balanced (for example, watching TV excessively)

• Why is that important?

  Because leading a lifestyle that contributes to my wellbeing is important to me

• Why is that important?

  Because when I am feeling well, I am more able to tune into my values of tolerance, serenity, freedom and spontaneity, and that makes my life beautiful and worth living.

We can then distribute all items into broader groups. And to do this, we could use Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (below) to help us.

The final result would be slightly different for everyone, because we can buy clothes for warmth (basic need) or for prestige (psychological need), house items for safety (basic need) or as a creative tool (self-fulfilment need), for example. Mine would look like this:

• Basic needs: food, mortgage and bills, clothes, fuel

• Psychological needs: gifts, toiletries

• Self-fulfilment needs: hobbies, fuel, house items, meals and coffees out

How does this relate to the paradox between time and money?

We can control how we spend our money and, to a certain degree, how much of it we have available to us. With time, on the other hand, we can control how we spend it but we have very limited control of how much of it we have available to us.

Earning money uses another valuable resource: energy. Physical and emotional energy can be earned back with time though, so those can still be translated into time.

Time (spent working + spent regaining energy) VS Paid resources

When considering the relationship above, the following thoughts occur to me:

Time can buy paid resources, but paid resources can’t always buy time:

We can buy food delivery or pay someone to do some lengthy tasks for us, but when it comes to our needs, time can’t be bought. For example, we can’t pay someone to sleep for us, create real connections with loved ones or install the benefits of creativity in our brain for us.

More time spent doesn’t necessarily result in more paid resources

It seems valuable to think of ways to decrease the time we spend making the same amount of money (= productivity), but only if that doesn’t compromise the time we spend regaining energy. For example, if we simply rush through our work, the resulting stress has energy costs that may not be worth spending. However, learning stress-coping strategies while spending the same time executing a paid task may result in an overall lower time expenditure.

We can make money while gaining energy

We don’t have to work just to earn money. An ideal situation is to find ways in which work can fulfil our needs. If our job provides a creative outlet, means for belongingness and human connection, prestige and a feeling of accomplishment, and/or a warm and safe place to spend our day, not only we will spend less money fulfilling these needs outside of work, but we are also likely to spend less emotional energy working. I think this is something worth investing time in figuring out.