There’s a common myth that many of us would have bought into at some point or the other. We assume that we have infinite time and finite earning potential throughout our career and lives. But if you really think about it for a minute, you’ll realise the exact opposite is true – what we really have is finite time and an infinite earning potential.

Which is why we need to be cognisant of and account for every minute of each day, because we will never get back lost time. To appreciate this better, there are two concepts that you need to focus on. The first is quantifying or arriving at a value for your time. Here’s how you go about it if you’re a working professional. Divide your monthly salary by the number of working hours in a month. The result is the value of one hour of your time.

The second concept is with respect to opportunity cost. The number of hours you aren’t working has immense potential and make for what is known as opportunity cost. Here are some of the ways you can unlock that potential.

• Attending online courses to upgrade your skills
• Putting in extra work to bring in additional income
• Taking up side gigs to maximise your monthly earning

This is by no means an exhaustive list. If you spend some time thinking about your schedule and what is accessible to you, you’re sure to come up with a few ideas of your own. The next time you find yourself doing something mindlessly, ask yourself, what is the opportunity cost here. Take the example of watching videos on a streaming platform. What it costs you is not just the subscription charge, but also your hourly cost multiplied by the number of hours you spent on the platform in a month. Doesn’t that add a whole new perspective?

There’s a statistic related to time management that may surprise you. It says, on average, 20% of our workday is spent on productive tasks, while 80% is spent on things which add minimal value. These distractions are not just competing for your productive hours in a day, but also impeding your earning potential in a major way. When it comes to entertainment, sure it can be a good stress reliever, but you need to slot time for it in a smart manner to avoid it becoming a harmful distraction.

Another chunk of time that you may be able to convert into useful hours is wait times, such as the time spent on your daily commute to and from work. If feasible, you could look at putting this time to good use – listening to an audiobook or planning your tasks/goals for the day, etc. These are simple time management hacks that actually work and which you could implement starting today.

With every passing year, we have the opportunity to upgrade ourselves, and our earning potential (per hour) or our capacity to earn. And it doesn’t take a major overhaul of your schedule to do it. Start small, be consistent, and you’re sure to see results in no time. In the upcoming blog post, which is also the last in this series, we’ll leave you with some quick and practical tips for time management. Keep reading, exploring and picking up these valuable life skills.