{"id":44082,"date":"2025-08-04T10:26:03","date_gmt":"2025-08-04T10:26:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=44082"},"modified":"2025-08-04T10:26:04","modified_gmt":"2025-08-04T10:26:04","slug":"the-hidden-tax-on-success-with-chris-guillebeau","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=44082","title":{"rendered":"The Hidden Tax On Success With Chris Guillebeau"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>I believe wealth management that only accounts for your money is disconnected from reality and may even leave you with a bankrupt calendar or an exhausted soul, regardless of the health of your personal balance sheet or cash flow statement.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why we regularly refer to wealth in more expansive terms, using the acronym, TIMER, including four additional resources that are often more precious than your mullah. Your true wealth portfolio, therefore, is your:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>T<\/strong>ime<\/li>\n<li><strong>I<\/strong>nfluence<\/li>\n<li><strong>M<\/strong>oney<\/li>\n<li><strong>E<\/strong>nergy (health and wellness)<\/li>\n<li><strong>R<\/strong>elationships<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Our Most Valuable Resource<\/h2>\n<p>And what is the most valuable? I\u2019d suggest it is the one resource that can never be replaced or replenished\u2014the one that expires just as we experience it\u2014our TIME. Thankfully, one of my favorite authors, Chris Guillebeau, known for taking nuanced and even counterintuitive positions in a thoughtful way, has addressed the big problem we have with our scarcest resource and offered us hyper-practical advice in his newest book, <em data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:https:\/\/a.co\/d\/aWbZhP9\">Time Anxiety: The Illusion of Urgency and A Better Way To Live<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>One of the things I love about this project is its title, a phrase that is new to me, yet immediately familiar<em>: time anxiety<\/em>. So, how does Guillebeau define it?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne part is the fear of time running out\u2014it\u2019s nonrenewable and that\u2019s inherently stressful,\u201d Chris told me in our recent discussion. \u201cThe other is the day-to-day question: What do I do next, out of unlimited options?\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Existential Anxiety<\/h2>\n<p>The first part is existential time anxiety, and it is the general reality that we all face that \u201ctime is running out <u>in my life<\/u>.\u201d This could manifest as a \u201cheightened sense of pressure to make every moment count\u201d that leads to perpetual underlying stress. Or maybe it\u2019s about recurring regrets you have about past decisions you\u2019ve made that resulted in wasting this precious resource.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe it\u2019s \u201cworrying that you\u2019ll never find your true calling or purpose,\u201d and the companion fear that you may at some future point look back on a life that feels unfulfilled. Or perhaps it\u2019s simply the inherent human challenge of facing the finiteness of life itself.<\/p>\n<p>Whether it\u2019s persistent and pervasive or beneath the surface, I\u2019d argue that we\u2019ve all felt some version of this existential time anxiety.<\/p>\n<h2>Daily Routine Anxiety<\/h2>\n<p>While this phenomenon tends to play out in our perception of the past and our anticipation of the future, the other variety of time anxiety is very present, involving our daily routine: the realization that \u201cthere\u2019s not enough <u>time in the day<\/u>.\u201d For example:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Here we put extreme pressure on ourselves to complete tasks within a certain timeframe.<\/li>\n<li>Or \u201cfeel like you\u2019re always \u2018on\u2019 and can\u2019t truly disconnect from work, even during your downtime.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Perhaps we struggle to stay focused on one task at a time, always distracted by newer to dos.<\/li>\n<li>Or maybe we rarely experience \u201ca sense of completion or satisfaction after finishing a task or meeting a deadline.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Question:<\/h2>\n<blockquote><p>\n As you consider these two types of time anxiety\u2014existential and daily routine\u2014which tends to be more of a challenge for you?\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>For me, while I recognize the existential variety, I\u2019ve done a lot of introspective work on that front, and I genuinely feel at peace with my unknown timeline within the cosmos. But I deal with the challenges of daily routine, well, daily. In fact, as I consider the question I posed to you, I realize that it may well be the foremost challenge\u2014and stressor\u2014that I face, both at home and at work.<\/p>\n<p>And this is coming from someone who has long been a passionate pursuer of productivity. In 1998, I got my first (of several) physical Stephen Covey planners\u2014remember those? I took the course, bought the CDs, used the Microsoft Outlook overlay, only to realize I was spending more time managing the system than doing the work!<\/p>\n<p>I went through a David Allen GTD (Getting Things Done) phase but struggled to update that physical process in our virtual world. I\u2019ve had much more success with the more minimalist Bullet Journal approach\u2014thank you, Ryder Carroll!\u2014and I\u2019ve now upgraded that concept from 20+ filled Moleskine journals to the single, sleek Remarkable tablet.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve read everything that Cal Newport has written (and you should, too) about <em data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:https:\/\/a.co\/d\/6F6xfXi\">Deep Work<\/em>, and I\u2019m task batching and calendar blocking. I start every week and day with a vision, plan, and identified MITs (Most Important Tasks), thanks to Daniel Pink. BUT.<\/p>\n<p>But I still find myself <em>adding<\/em> more to-dos most days than I check off. My heart still quickens every time I open my email inbox. When I shut down the day\u2019s work, I inevitably feel like there\u2019s something I\u2019ve missed\u2014and when I inevitably do miss something, I\u2019m stricken with guilt for not having lived up to my aspirations to better serve my family, my colleagues, and my clients.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, I struggle with time anxiety, and I\u2019m betting you do, too.<\/p>\n<h2>So, what can we do?<\/h2>\n<p>For starters, read Guillebeau\u2019s book, <em data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:https:\/\/a.co\/d\/7cEPoZQ\">Time Anxiety<\/em><em>.<\/em> Seriously. This isn\u2019t a shameless plug, and I get nothing for endorsing. The big benefit that I can practically guarantee, however, is that your soul will feel nourished simply for the fact that our guide, the author, gets it. He\u2019s not just the expert in fixing the issue (although he is), but he\u2019s a co-sufferer and co-laborer. And sometimes, that reminder that we\u2019re not alone on this journey is precisely what it takes to silence the shaming voice in our heads and muster the strength to take a bold step forward.<\/p>\n<p>But in reading, you\u2019ll also find numerous simple and practical steps that you can immediately apply in reducing your time anxiety. Here are just a few:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Leave 10-to-15 minutes earlier than you think you need to. For everything. However simple, \u201cIt\u2019s life-changing,\u201d Guillebeau told me. \u201cYou\u2019re literally giving yourself more time.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cAccept less than excellence in some areas.\u201d This is exceedingly difficult for overachievers and perfectionists, but if \u201c[w]e treat everything as if it\u2019s urgent\u2014one speed only\u2014and that\u2019s not truly helpful or purposeful.\u201d Identify where 10\/10 is necessary, where 8\/10 will do, and where no effort or response at all may be the key to keeping your time anxiety in check.<\/li>\n<li>Don\u2019t finish everything you start. Whether it\u2019s a book, a movie, a TV show, a concert, a football game, or even a meeting or conference for work, \u201cNot finishing things is one of the great joys of life,\u201d Chris said. \u201cGive yourself that time back.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>This is not a call for the acceptance of mediocrity, nor a manifesto against achievement, accomplishment, or healthy ambition. Quite the opposite, it\u2019s about maximizing our time for that which is most deserving. It\u2019s about saying No or nothing at all when it\u2019s called for, in submission to a bigger Yes. It\u2019s about having a better answer than \u201cBusy!\u201d to the question, \u201cHow\u2019s it going?\u201d And I believe it\u2019s about reclaiming control over our scarcest and most precious of resources\u2014our time.<\/p>\n<p>The activity inherent in life threatens to override a heart of gratitude. Productivity alone isn\u2019t the point. Nor are the numbers.<\/p>\n<p>Because in the end, no one gets wealthy just by filling their calendar. True wealth, I think we can agree, is measured by how much of your time is truly your own.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Read the full article <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/timmaurer\/2025\/08\/03\/time-anxiety-the-hidden-tax-on-success-with-chris-guillebeau\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" rel=\"nofollow\">here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I believe wealth management that only accounts for your money is disconnected from reality and may even leave you with a bankrupt calendar or an exhausted soul, regardless of the health of your personal balance sheet or cash flow statement. That\u2019s why we regularly refer to wealth in more expansive terms, using the acronym, TIMER,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44083,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-44082","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-retirement"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.12 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Hidden Tax On Success With Chris Guillebeau | iSafeSpend<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I believe wealth management that only accounts for your money is disconnected from reality and may even leave you with a bankrupt calendar or an exhausted\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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