Timing Matters

Lesson 17

The right thing at the wrong time becomes the wrong thing. I’ve learned this the hard way several times. There are many famous examples of this, like asking your boss for a raise after he is done screaming at an employee, or asking the girl of your dreams to marry you on the first date. These are the right questions, however the timing negates the effectiveness and it actually becomes a detriment. With that poor timing, your boss may even fire you, and the girl is probably not going on that second date with you.

Timing is important in the micro and in the macro. It is important on all levels, and one of the craziest things is that timing can have a lot to do with luck. If you are reading this now, you are incredibly lucky to be alive during the AI Revolution. Yes, life can be crazy, but this is the opportunity of a lifetime.

There are different interpretations on this, but luck is generally out of our control. Yes, you can make yourself “luckier” by placing yourself in the right environments, but I am talking more about things like being alive during the AI Revolution. Don’t worry about things out of your control, and play the hand you’re dealt. However, become extremely judicious with things in your control that involve time. This will allow you to maximize your time to the highest degree.

In regards to workflow, what times do you work best? That is a broad question, but a great starting point. Delving deeper, what times do you do specific tasks best? For example, when are you best at creative work? When are you best at the grunt work? When are you best at x, y, and z? Once you establish this, you can then start to build your day around best times for the best tasks — optimizing productivity. 

You can do this with everything — working, eating, exercising, sleeping. We talked about a day, but there are also different seasons of life. There are times to learn, and there are times to teach. There are times to be more introspective, and there are times to be more extroverted. It all boils down to awareness and discernment. How aware can you be of your environment (which includes time)? How well can you discern when is the most appropriate time for what?