Entrepreneurship

Clearing time debt

Dean Jackson 1 min read

One of the most useful ideas I ever wrote in my journal never made it into any of my books.

I called it time debt.

You already know what financial debt feels like.

It quietly occupies part of your mind all the time.

Time debt works exactly the same way.

It’s every email you haven’t answered.

Every promise you’ve made but haven’t kept.

Every project you’ve started but haven’t finished.

Every decision you’ve postponed.

Individually they don’t seem like much.

Collectively they create a constant mental drag.

That’s why I’ve found the fastest way to feel productive isn’t starting something new.

It’s paying off a little time debt.

Make a list.

Ask yourself, “What do I owe?”

Then knock off the easiest one.

Just like Dave Ramsey’s debt snowball, small wins create momentum.

Every item you eliminate frees up a little more attention.

And attention is the real currency of an entrepreneurial life.

Maybe the goal isn’t to become better at managing time.

Maybe it’s simply to owe less of it…so you can spend it freely.

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