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The Gift Of Time

As I have been rearranging my calendar to move in-person meetings to Zoom and phone calls, I’ve realized that the response to the coronavirus is giving us all a gift—the gift of time.

How many times have you told yourself you’d do something if you just had more time?

  • Get to the gym more.
  • Make healthier meals.
  • Spend more time with family.
  • Write.
  • Read more.

Well, many of the distractions or time-intensive activities that have kept you from whatever it is that you wish you were able to do are gone or at least on pause. Being confined to the house, self-imposed at this time, could be a big downer OR it can give you the time to improve areas of your life you’ve been too busy to work on.

Personally, our family schedule has significantly lightened up—no sports, no activities, nowhere we HAVE to be. I plan on using the time saved by not having to commute (to and from the office and practices), sit in the gym or on the soccer fields, or run around town to spend more time with Ang and the boys, disconnect from devices, start new family traditions, and more.

Professionally, over the next few weeks, I’ll eliminate in-person meetings. Since I’m following the recommendation of social distancing, instead of having clients come to the office, I’ll still meet with them using Zoom or the phone. While our reviews are important and the conversation we will have right now will be irreplaceable, they aren’t worth the risk of spreading the virus. I’m supposed to help my clients, not put them at risk. I’ll also be having fewer coffees and meetings with potential new clients and other advisors—in-person networking will be put on hold. With the time saved from virtual/phone meetings (they always tend to be shorter than in person) and no other meetings, I’ll finally have the time to implement new workflows, add RLSWM client-only content to continue to communicate with clients, create more content, and more.

Life is giving us lemons and we have the opportunity to make lemonade. I will be sharing in more detail how I plan to make lemonade and give some ideas on how you can make your own. I’ll share one thing now—time will be the main ingredient in this recipe.

How will you use the extra time you now find in your schedule?

Disclaimer: Nothing on this blog should be considered advice, or recommendations. If you have questions pertaining to your individual situation you should consult your financial advisor. For all of the disclaimers, please see my disclaimers page.