Are You Spending Time That Pays—Or Just Passing Time?

How much time do you spend on things that don’t make you any money?

Hopefully, a lot.
Because not every minute needs to be monetized. There’s huge value in the things that recharge you: hiking, laughing with family, walking your dog, or enjoying your favorite show. That kind of time is important—and worth protecting.

But what about the time we spend doing things that drain us, distract us, and don’t build our business or feed our soul?

Like:

• Cyber-stalking your competitors.
• Deleting junk email from newsletters you never read.
• Rearranging digital files instead of working on actual priorities.
  

None of that is making you money. And worse—it’s stealing time away from the non-revenue tasks that actually do help your bottom line: like bookkeeping, receipt tracking, mileage logs, or even creating your own social media posts (so you can be the one others are cyber-stalking).

Take bookkeeping.
It doesn’t feel productive in the moment—but it keeps me financially grounded. When I stay on top of it:

• I spot services I’m paying for that I no longer use.
• I know when to re-shop my insurance.
• I see where I’m overspending.
• Sometimes, I even find invoices I forgot to send.
  

So no, bookkeeping doesn’t earn me money directly. But it saves me money I don’t have to earn—and that’s just as powerful.

Here’s the truth: we all get the same 24 hours a day.
It’s not about how much time you have—it’s about how you use it.

For me, the game-changer has been:

• Making checklists.
• Setting daily priorities.
• Tackling the most important (even if less fun) tasks before I get distracted by things that don’t matter.
  

Even spending just 20 minutes a day reviewing my books or logging into my bank account makes a difference. When I do it consistently, it doesn’t pile up, and it takes way less time overall.