Is There a Correlation between Managing Time and Managing Money?

By Guest Author, Ann Marie Sabath:

You can tell a lot about people based on how they manage their time. The ones who are notoriously late are the same people who are consistently a dollar short. They possess neither a mastery of time nor money.

Oftentimes, you can identify these individuals based on their actions and surroundings. While these people represent a variety of socioeconomic classes, they have one common denominator: disorganization!

For instance, the system—or lack thereof—of how you pack a suitcase and organize what is in your wallet are reflections of how you manage both your time and money. Let me give you a few examples:

What the Way You Pack a Suitcase Says about You

The next time you are at an airport and have just cleared airport security, take a peek inside the luggage of the person who has been stopped to have his/her luggage checked by a TSA person. If the person’s belongings are neatly packed, you can safely hedge a bet that the person is also methodical by the way he/she manages both time and money.

If, on the other hand, the person’s clothes, toiletries, and the like appear to have been thrown in the suitcase ten minutes before leaving home, there’s a better chance than not that this dishevelment is a reflection of how the person also manages both his minutes and monetary life.

The Way You Organize What Is in Your Wallet Is a Reflection of You

While we are quickly becoming a cashless society, some people still prefer to pay using cash. For those who do, the way they organize what is in their wallets is a reflection of the way they manage their lives. While I am not asking you to be a peeping Tom, I am asking that you inconspicuously take note of the person who is checking out in front of you at the grocery, coffee shop or department store.

Unless the person is using Apple Pay, the person will most likely open his wallet. Are the person’s bills and receipts in his wallet folded, upside down, every which way, reflecting the disorder in his life? Or are his singles next to his fives next to ten-dollar and twenty-dollar bills respectively?

And when it is your turn to check out, what is the organization—or lack thereof—of your wallet’s contents going to tell the person behind you?

The List-Maker Vs. “Operate by the Seat of Your Pants” Person

The next time you go to the grocery store, take five minutes to observe the number of people who are putting things in their cart based on the list they are following. Better chance than not, you will be able to count on one hand the number of individuals who came armed with what they intended to buy.

These list people or “actionary individuals” do just that.  They “act.” They do not leave home without a list. Just as time masters write down the time that they have to leave to get to a given destination by a specific time, these actionary people preplan their purchases by not leaving home without a list any more than they would orchestrate a meeting without an agenda.

This “make a list” step is a simple safeguard for staying organized, for remaining in control, for not making unplanned purchases. All thanks to those ten-fifteen minutes of mapping out the intended goal of what to buy.

Take more control of YOUR time and money by writing down the time that YOU have to leave rather than the time that you have to be somewhere. This is a surefire way for getting places early. The same goes for writing down what you intend to buy. It will help you to preplan your purchases rather than buy impulsively.

Simple as these guidelines may seem, few people practice managing their time and money. Are you part of this minority? If not, today may be the day to start.

About Ann Marie Sabath:

Ann Marie Sabath is the founder of At Ease Inc., the 31-year old New York City-based business consulting firm. Her ninth book, What Self-Made Millionaires Do That Most People Don’t: 52 Ways for Creating Your Own Success was recently released by Career Press. Becoming a time-master and preplanning your purchases are two of the 52 secrets for creating your own success.  Visit www.AnnMarieSabath.com for more!

Guest Contributor