Time Poverty: The Struggle to Get Everything Done

If you ever looked at your to-do list and felt overwhelmed or scrolling through your overflowing inbox make you want to crawl back under the covers, then you're probably familiar with the feeling of time poverty.

Time poverty is a state where you simply don't have enough time to complete all the tasks and commitments in your life.

You're basically short on time and the reality is that it can affect anyone, regardless of age, profession, or socioeconomic background.

A certain class of people, however, have a potent tool to solve this problem but before getting into that, let's find out why do so many of us struggle with time poverty?

One reason is the ever-increasing demands on our attention. This is something that I discussed quite a bit, as it seems we have so much to do in so little time.

Whether this ever-increasing demand is natural or artificial is debatable. I would argue that the natural demands haven't really changed much and are not a main contributor to time poverty. The artificial demands, however, can sometimes hit like a DDoS attack.

But I think the real underlying factor contributing to time poverty is the complexity of modern life.

In a way, life has expanded and branched out, and we often juggle multiple roles – parent, employee, spouse, friend – each with its own set of demands.

This and the always-on culture we live in, creates this tangible feeling of being pulled in a million different directions and never having enough time for anything.

Image Source

Unless we consciously decide to prioritize our time, putting certain aspects of our lives ahead of the others, we're trapped in a cycle of overwhelm and always perceiving ourselves as one or more steps behind.

Now, this class of people mentioned above is the wealthy, and their potent tool is money.

Money As A Time-saving Tool

Think about it....

If we really want to optimize for more time, then money can be a powerful tool for that. In my view, buying back our "work time" with money is just the tip of the iceberg.

Because there are so many things money can buy back that go beyond just the hours you spend working. It can buy back(as in free up) the mental-emotional space constantly consumed by decision fatigue from miscellaneous activities.

For example, money can be used to outsource errands through grocery delivery services or online shopping, eliminate long commutes with a car, and avoid wasted time waiting in lines with priority service options.

These are just a few examples of how money can alleviate the mental burden of time constraints.

Of course, happiness isn't part of the ''things" that money can buy, that we're now quite sure of. However, I would like to think that it can reduce a significant amount of stress related to financial worries.

Be Strategic, Not Spoiled

Now, simply having more money doesn't guarantee a solution to time poverty.

Just because you have more money doesn't mean you should spend it all on time-saving services. Remember the ever-increasing demands we discussed earlier?

Image Source

This can apply to spending as well. The pressure to maintain a certain lifestyle fueled by expensive time-saving services can actually eat away at your newfound free time and create new financial burdens.

This phenomenon, known as lifestyle inflation, can also quickly negate the time-saving benefits of our money.

For example, if I start relying on expensive grocery delivery services every time I need something, then I might end up spending more time working to pay for them than I would have spent shopping myself.

Simply put, to truly buy back time with money is to be strategic about how you spend the latter.


Thanks for reading!! Share your thoughts below on the comments.

Posted Using InLeo Alpha