Anything you do with time you do with your life. You are never wasting time, only your life. Others are never wasting your time, only your life. Your are never spending time, just your life.
Unproductive people spend time, but productive people invest time wisely for maximum returns. Your job is to get the best return on your time invested. Financial investors focus on their potential ROI (return on investment) Time investors focus on the potential ROTI (return on time invested). As companies use ROI projections to make important decisions about the use of their resources, you should use the ROTI to get the same result.
Personal Time Perspective
Studies have shown that your personal time perspective is the greatest single factor determining the direction of your own social mobility. Edward Barnfield of Harvard University reached this conclusion and published his findings in 1967. According to his research, if you retire rich it will be because of long range thinking.
Long Time Perspective
This means looking at the big picture and thinking in terms of the rest of your life. Those with long time perspective are often 20 and 30 years ahead. They are constantly thinking and preparing today for tomorrow’s inevitabilities.
Short-time Perspective
Symptoms include no plans, no direction, no vision or dream, overwhelmed with the moment, an obsession with gratification now. STP people are usually oblivious to the consequences of any action or failure to act!
Shifting Perspective
When you feel bad, first locate yourself! Where are you now, in the short-term or the long-range? In the immediate or the ultimate? Once you locate yourself, you can simply move to the next level. If the pain is in the long range then simply focus on the here and now. If the pain is in the now, then focus on the long-range big picture and ask yourself, how important is this in the big scheme of things?
The Rest of Your Life
How clear is the rest of your life? How long do you want to live? Describe your private and professional life in the future. List now what you will be doing, where you will live and how much you will earn in 5, 10, 15, 20 & 25 years from now!