Energy > time > money (part 3 of 5)
a theory on identifying our most precious resource
This is part 3 of a 5 part series published each day this week (w/c February 3rd 2025). You can read parts 1 and 2 via the links below.
A very quick re-cap on post no. 1 of this series.
Many people in our culture believe that money is greater than time is greater than energy. A brief illustration lacking in nuance but ultimately accurate:
“My life ambition? Get a great job and make loads of money. Then I’ll use my time and energy to do the things I really want.”
You might. Or you might not. Here’s how the traditional theory goes:
When I have enough money I’ll be able to do whatever I want with my…
time. And when I have enough time I’ll be able to focus on using my…
energy to go out and achieve all those other things I want to achieve with my life.
This is all founded on the assumption that:
a) we make enough money to unlock sufficient…;
b) time to do other things and during that time…;
c) we have enough human energy to invest in those things.
Let’s get to the heart of the alternative. Here’s how the reverse argument works:
There is little point in having lots of money…
if you don’t have the time to spend it, and…
there is little point in having time to spend it if you don’t have energy to enjoy it.
So now let’s flip the traditional hierarchy on its head and read things this way:
Energy is greater than;
Time is greater than;
Money.
I need energy to make the most of my time so that I can enjoy the money that I’ve worked so hard for. Not the other way around.
This applies as much in the present moment as it does 10, 20, 30, 40 years from now. Why spend excess energy today to obtain more time or money than you will be able to use and/or enjoy tomorrow?
Burning out
The crux of this dilemma results in one of the great issues of our day: burnout. The cost of continuously ploughing ourselves into ‘energy debt’ today (which will result in burnout) is the diminished ability to optimise the way we spend our time and our money tomorrow.
A brief example.
We get to the end of another punishing work week and Friday afternoon is full of thoughts about how we’re going to spend our free time and hard earned cash over the weekend. A few beers on Friday night and by the time Saturday morning rolls around all we want to do is sit on the sofa watching Netflix for the next 48 hours.
(I have a shameful example of this that sticks in the mind. As a former, but enthusastic supporter of Chelsea Football Club when living in London, I was too tired and lazy to make the short trip one Saturday afternoon to see their open top bus parade after they won the Champions League in 2012. I was actually going to miss this once in a lifetime event, which I’d been craving for years, because I’d spent too much energy the week before and couldn’t be bothered. Thankfully, not for the first or last time, my wife got me up off the sofa and made me go - with her).
Somewhat synchronously, Insight Timer (the mindfulness meditation app I use to time my practice) offered this as its thought of the day yesterday:
“Spend your money on the things money can buy. Spend your time on the things money can’t buy.” - Haruki Murakami
In the spirit of this series let me add to the great Murakami’s wisdom with some of my own:
“Spend your money on the things money can buy. Spend your time on the things money can’t buy. Spend your energy enjoying the time and money you have available to you.” - Haruki Murakami (feat. JR)
If we’re now in broad agreement that energy is our most precious resource, I’ll explain what you can do to create more energy for yourself in part 4…
You’re always welcome here.
JR