Time Capital Pt. 1: Are You Investing Your Time for the Highest ROI?
I recently launched a new keynote speech based on my 10+ years of research on the neuroscience and psychology of time perception. The précis of this talk anchors to the language of investing, the central question of which is:
"If time and money are fungible and you trade your time for money, are you also effectively trading your money for time?"
Hence the notion of "Time Capital."
There are many types of "capital" – the most common being financial capital – the ability to gather, store, and disperse wealth to obtain goods and services. However, there are many other types of capital, such as social capital, intellectual capital, human capital, and cultural capital. But none, one could argue, is more important than time capital.
What is time capital? Time capital is simply the collective value of our most valuable currency: time. I have been researching and experimenting with the neuroscience and psychology of time perception for over a decade. As part of my work, I created the "Time Investment Portfolio" - below - a number of years ago, which shows the relationship between time investments and returns.
In this case, the X axis is the invested linear time, clock time, or "Chronos time" as the Greeks defined it. The Y axis is the return on that invested time or "kairos time" as defined by the Greeks. Like with all investments, there is an inherent risk/return ratio built into the matrix.
Let's cover the quadrants briefly:
1. Low invested time, low returns (lower left quadrant). These are our routine activities - mowing the lawn, commuting, shaving, etc. We should seek to minimize routine activities, or in some cases, we can "ritualize" them to add value. (More to come on this)
2. High invested clock time, low returns (lower right quadrant). For some people, this is their job. If you have to put 40 hours a week being a tollbooth collector, well there probably is not much in terms of interest or "returns" from that specific activity. However, there are 168 hours in a week, and the money earned from this "investment time" can be converted to higher value activity on nights, weekends, and vacations.
3. High invested time, high returns (upper right quadrant). Hopefully, this is your job, family time, hobbies, etc. If you can get into the "flow state" during these activities - all the better, your ability to bank memories (the currency of time) will be 4 to 5-fold that of more mundane activities.
4. Low invested time, high returns (upper left quadrant). These are the unicorns of time investments (picture the Y axis zooming well above the page). These are those magical moments where time stops, speeds up, or both: the kinds of events where there is a before and after, and the memories are permanently etched into your psyche. Note, that most of these kairos memories take place in moments, not minutes, not months, not years. And, necessarily, there is a high-risk element - you asked the girl out or you didn't, you took the job across the country or you didn't, you leaned in for the kiss or you didn't, you asked for forgiveness or you didn't. Our lives are often defined by these kairos or "event horizon" moments where, by definition, "everything happens at once and the trajectory is reset" (the etymology of kairos.)
In future articles, I'll dig more into chronos, kairos, and the quadrants - for now, let's return to time capital. Despite referring to it obliquely through the matrix above and other writing and research over the years, it wasn't until prepping for a recent interview with Peter Moustakerski of Family Office Exchange (FOX) that I heard the elegant phrase summing it up, "time capital". To quote Peter from his January 2024 article based, in part, on our podcast conversation:
"Time is a unique form of capital. First, it’s the only form of capital that we receive in a fixed, predetermined amount—we cannot grow it, mine it, or generate any more of it than we are blessed with. Second, it is the most "universally convertible" or "liquid" form of capital—you can turn time into anything: financial success, social impact, human relationships, intellectual pursuits, creative expression, spiritual enlightenment, etc. And third, time is a "multidimensional" capital—it has at least two dimensions we commonly recognize and refer to: quantity and quality. The "quantity" of time is measured in chronological minutes, hours, days, etc., while its "quality" is assessed by the intensity and meaning of the experience and activity we are engaging in."
We are all given a fixed income of Chronos time over similar lifespans but the returns can be vastly different depending on how it is invested. Are you living with time poverty?
Most likely you strategically invest your financial portfolio, but do you strategically invest your time portfolio? Everyone knows you can't expect high returns from low-risk financial investments, yet it appears that many people somehow expect high returns from low-risk time investments. I
It doesn't work that way...
This is where the adage is right, "Life Begins at the Edge of Your Comfort Zone."
Are you investing your time for the highest returns? For guidance on how to do so, watch for my next post..