Are you a thief? Stealing time from one activity for another?
As work demands and complexities escalate, many professionals resort to various techniques to manipulate time and squeeze in one more activity for the day.
As part of rushing to beat the clock, one tactic that is used is time debting or time borrowing. Time debting is taking time from one activity to give to another and then expecting that somehow you will be able to make up the time. Often, this is about breaking a commitment, deferring an activity that you don’t want to do, or sacrificing some personal time.
Time debting is scarcity thinking. We have enough time for the important things in life. What we prioritize and get done each day are what we deem as the highest priorities in that moment. Anything you cancelled, skipped, didn't give full attention to, you made the decision to treat as a lower priority.
Examples of time debt
Back in college, I learned to use time debting when I was trying to reduce how long it would take to graduate. My junior year I had severely overbooked myself with ROTC, Army Reserves, classes, and work. I was sleeping only 2-4 hours per night and almost no social life. I juggled assignments and test preparations to get by. That same year, I kept canceling the time I scheduled to process and file my taxes. I filed late and paid penalties.
There is also a smaller scale version of time debting that frequently occurs, every time you sacrifice a break or some sleep for another activity. These choices lead to increased exhaustion and reduced energy. The body needs this time to recover. You can only “borrow” your body’s maintenance and rest time, so long before it starts breaking down. Think about this like car maintenance – skipping oil changes and minor repairs can only take you so many miles before a more significant breakdown occurs. Gobbling your food and eating on the run is another example, as you have decided that another activity is more important than nourishing yourself. Digestive issues occur and add strain to your body.
Those are fairly clear-cut examples, here are a few less obvious behaviors that can indicate a pattern of time debting:
•Chronic tardiness
•Overdelivering on something but underdelivering on another
•Not following through
•Avoiding responsibilities or commitments
•Overpromising
•Perfectionism
•Regularly losing track of things (time, deadlines, bills, verbal agreements)
•Speeding or driving unsafely to make up time
I think you get the idea.
Which behaviors do you recognize that you engage in? How do they contribute to your feelings of overwhelm or stress? How do they impact your belief that there is not enough time for everything?
Impact assessment
Individuals that rely on time debting find that it impacts relationships, particularly the one with ourselves. Too many times self-care – sleep, exercise, play, relax, spiritual practice & enough time to eat – are the sacrifices to do something for work or home.
Have you been selecting work tasks over relationships and responsibilities at home? How has time debting impacted your relationships?
Look at how this is impacting your work performance. Are any of these behaviors impacting how people perceive you? Are you getting feedback about inconsistency?
In the above example from when I was a student, time debting impacted:
- Performance – I barely passed my classes because of how I juggled skipping assignments. My professors remembered my inconsistency when I had them for future classes.
- Reputation & Relationships – I disappeared on my friends. When I resurfaced, I was so exhausted that many friends and colleagues thought I had a substance abuse issue or a major disease.
- Cost me money – You can’t escape taxes, even as a student with almost no income!
- Led to more stress!
This particular quarter is also when I learned how to use feelings of franticness & fear, lack of sleep, and too many stimulants to trigger an adrenaline rush. This would grant a strong jolt of energy and focus to push through. This is not a healthy tactic. I do not recommend becoming an adrenaline junkie as a way to boost energy. It carries a heavy physical toll over time. (I'll address more another time.)
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Paying accounts
Like overuse of credit cards, it comes to a point where accounts need to be paid. To get out of time debt, you have to start clearing and reducing commitments. You’ve overbooked yourself and need to resolve anything significant that you have been deferring.
It may take a difficult (and highly planned) discussion with your boss or your team to ensure priorities are adequately resourced and to align on what can be slowed or placed on hold if additional resources can’t be found. (I can see you cringing at the thought of this conversation…)
Remember, getting out of time debt is not a sign of weakness! Do not make this about you and your performance, but focus on the goals of the team. If you handle the discussion appropriately and keep it focused on BIG picture, stakeholders will respect your courage and responsibility to speak up about how priorities are at risk due to a lack of resources.
Prioritizing more deeply, planning your schedule more thoroughly, and gating commitments are three tactics to help you going forward. In this article, I’ll address gating commitments, follow the links for more information on the other tactics.
The Bible also calls for us to let no debt remain outstanding in Romans 13:8. In this chapter, Paul is transitioning from talking about discussing what is owed to human authorities to talking about what is owed to fellow Christians. Fulfilling time debts addresses both. How does clearing time debts and asking for forgiveness to those whom you hurt (including yourself) show your love?
Are You Willing to Experiment for Yourself?
"Ugh .. this is a mess. I can't figure out how to get out of these commitments - people will be hurt or disappointed. It will reflect poorly on me."
Let's walk through this. Getting back to the thought at the beginning - whatever you do is the highest priority. That is your decision and choice. Anything cancelled or incomplete you decided was secondary. There is no procrastination, just priority decisions.
- Review the last week, have the activities that you completed (versus the ones you cancelled) reflect what you view as most important?
- What messages did you send to people that you skipped out on?
- What will happen if you continue to go into time debt?
- What happens if you clean up your schedule and you stop breaking your word?
Only you have the power to make different decisions of how to use your time. This may be a series of difficult conversations, but don't you think people would rather you were transparent that you might not be able to do something? Or how an alternative might occur? Is that better long term for your relationships or randomly and without notice cancelling or underdelivering without informing them?
Also, you never know what can happen in that discussion. There was one woman I spoke to, her kids were relieved to get out of some of the afterschool activities that she and her husband had pushed them into. They didn't have to constantly juggle carpools and pickups any more.
I get it - there are things you can't get out of immediately. You may not be able to change your schedule this week, but you can start the discussions and slowly get yourself to a more manageable load. As you stop having to cancel or half do activities, how will you benefit?
RELATED: Setting Effective Boundaries with Narrow Gates
My hope for you...
With practice and training, implementing strategies to manage work-related stress and prioritize your time will become easier. Not worrying how to balance out the hours in the day and which activities to cut out, you will feel reduced stress and a happier work-life harmony. By taking time for relationships and activities that nourish your body, mind, and spirit, you will be living more of the life that God intends for you.
Remember, God is always present, and by surrendering to Him and allowing the Holy Spirit to guide you, you'll find the strength and courage to overcome challenges and grow, ultimately leading to a flourishing life.
Interested in this approach and want to learn more about how you can go deeper into using your existing time management skills to help you improve your work-life harmony and reducing your stress? Book a free consultation.
