Who Runs Your Time Account?

Have you ever paused and wondered who’s running your time account?

Is it your employer, your shareholders, or your customers?

Maybe it’s your family members, friends, or even your endless desires.

Or perhaps, in some distant part of your mind, you think you’re the one calling the shots.

The hard truth is that—most of us, whether we realize it or not, are letting someone else spend our time for us.

It’s easy to fall into this trap.

Work demands pile up, social obligations stretch us thin, and somewhere between trying to meet everyone else’s expectations, we lose sight of one crucial question: What do I actually want to do with my time?

Greg McKeown puts it brilliantly in "Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less " when he says, “If you don't prioritize your life, someone else will.” Think about it. Are you running your time account, or is someone else?

If you don’t consciously decide how to spend your time, your employer, clients, or even your daily distractions will make that decision for you.

Let me share something personal.

There was a time when I felt like I was always racing against the clock—endless meetings, constant deadlines, and a to-do list that never seemed to shrink.

I told myself it was the hustle, that I was chasing success.

But the reality was that I was chasing everyone else’s priorities.

I was letting my time be managed by external forces, instead of making those decisions for myself.

This brings me to a vital point: clarity.

If you don’t have clarity about what truly matters to you, you’ll end up wasting your most precious resource—time.

You’ll fill your calendar with things that don’t align with your values, just because they feel urgent.

Cal Newport, in "Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World ," captures this perfectly: "What we choose to focus on and what we choose to ignore—plays in defining the quality of our life."

Have you thought about what you’re allowing to define your life?

Do the things consuming your time matter, or are they distractions pulling you further away from your goals?

We live in a culture that glorifies the hustle, where being busy equates to being important.

But is being busy a sign of success, or is it just a sign of a life out of control?

The freedom to decide how you spend your time is the real luxury.

The question you need to ask yourself is: What am I prioritizing in my time account, and why?

We all have 24 hours in a day, but the difference lies in how we use them.

It’s not about having more time; it’s about taking control of the time you already have.

Are you letting your employer dictate your every move?

Are you chasing material success while burning up all your hours?

Or are you making conscious choices, carving out moments that align with your values and goals?

You have the power to change the narrative.

Start by being intentional. What will you say “no” to today so that you can say “yes” to what truly matters tomorrow?

Buy "Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown

Buy "Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport