No one wishes they had lesser time. But unfortunately, time is a finite resource. It's the one thing we can’t get back once we’ve lost it.

True success, in my personal experience, is about balancing financial needs with things you can do to buy time that you can then spend on the things you care about. We earn money in exchange for the value we create. But, the things we love to do might not be the same that help us make money. And so, as we make money, how cool would it be to spend some of it to recoup the time we spend on things that we don’t really care about?

1. Understand Your Priorities.

Sometimes life can be full of choices — deciding what to pick and discard is hard. That's why it's important to know your priorities and what's important to you. What matters most to you? What do you want to be known for? What are the things that make you happy? What are the things that give you a sense of fulfillment?

Spend time discovering your priorities. Turn these priorities into measurable goals that you then strive to achieve. Make decisions consciously to help you get closer to them and discard everything that’s stopping you from getting there.

If spending more time with your family is a priority — pick a job that allows you to have a flexible schedule. If your priority is to stay fit, start allocating time for fitness activities and track your compliance. No matter what your priorities are, understand them methodically and make better choices in life.

2. Design For Your Ideal Lifestyle.

It’s easy to fall into a rat race of earning more and more money, not thinking about whether you are already happy where you are and if you’re better off pursuing other things in life. As you age, exploring higher purposes and passions becomes more important than meeting a number in your bank balance. This is why you must know what that ideal number is and where you stop to say this is it.

Factor in the costs of your long-term goals. If you wish to retire early, plan how you save more money faster. If you’re ok with retiring late, be ok with saving money over time. If you want to travel the world or buy a second home, ensure you have enough money to make those dreams a reality as you decide on finances.

So, take some time to think about the life you want to live and what it will cost you. This number should help your ultimate financial goal, and once you’ve reached there, any more money you have should be put into buying back time.

3. Start Investing in Yourself.

Never hesitate to invest in yourself. Make sure you're constantly learning and growing yourself, whether it is about taking a course, reading a book, attending a conference, or something else. At first, these can look like expenses because you’ll tend to look at the benefit you’ve derived against what it costs. Sure enough, though, a lot of investments in yourself only start to make sense once they start compounding.

They can, at first, look like expenses. But, when done right and consistently, they can give you phenomenal returns. As you increase the pace of investing in yourself, look for things that help you grow beyond just knowledge or network. Consider hiring a VA, adopting a planned way of life, productivity software, and anything else that eases out how you live.

4. Cutback on Unnecessary Expenses

Even as you invest in yourself, be cautious of unnecessary spending — from splurging on a new outfit to buying coffee every morning, analyze everything, and keep only the things that matter to you. While it may not seem like much, these small purchases can quickly add up and even mentally drain you.

Remember that the things you surround yourself with give you joy only when you actually use them. The more you have things you don’t really use; it is only going to add to your unhappiness.

It is important to plan to get a handle on your spending. Determine where you can cut back on expenses and stick to this plan as much as possible. You may be surprised how much money you can save and how happier you can become by making small changes to your spending habits.

5. Automate But Audit Your Finances.

Managing your finances is probably not at the top of your list of favorite things to do. Between work, family, and social obligations, there's not much time left to keep track of bills, expenses, and savings meticulously.

Automate But Audit is a philosophy that always helps me manage finances easily. Set up automatic bill payments. Maybe even start paying yearly wherever you can for things you’re sure you’ll need for a while. This simple strategy will remove much of the cognitive load associated with late payments, deadlines, and invoices.

As you are paying automatically, invest automatically too. Invest in funds, move money to savings accounts, or do anything that helps you grow your money — but the key is to do it automatically to some extent. This way, you are freeing up even more time. Sure, you can always manage all your investments individually and MAYBE make a little more money but is that more worth it than the time you get back is a question you must constantly ask yourself.

Sit for a few hours and meticulously audit every line item on your bank and credit card statements. Make sure the things you are paying for are the things you really need. Once in a while, you might end up paying for something you didn’t actually need, but then it’s no big deal — just remove it from next month onwards.

6. Outsource And Delegate Wherever You Can.

One of the best ways to buy back time is to automate and outsource your tasks. If you're struggling to keep up with everything on your plate, it may be time to hire some help. What fun is it to do everything yourself when you have the money to spend on getting it done by someone else? If there are things, you can delegate or automate, go ahead and do it right away! This could mean hiring a Virtual Assistant to take care of your email and social media, setting up a recurring service to help with a chore, or something else.

While these may seem like small things, they give you back valuable hours each week that you can use however you see fit. By sharing the load with someone else, you can take some of the pressure off yourself and buy back some much-needed time. While doing this, learn to balance delegation and doing it yourself. And as always, delegate but hold people accountable. That way, you keep at it and do not drop it off.

7. Invest in Tools That Increase Productivity.

Whether you work for a company or run your own, plenty of tools and services can help you work more efficiently and free up some of your time. For example, an online invoicing system can save you hours every month by automating repetitive tasks like sending payment reminders or tracking account receivables. Project management tools today can help you streamline your workflow and stay organized.

A to-do list or a calendaring app can help you stay more organized while getting things done. Investing in a few key software tools and services allows you to easily free up several hours each week to focus on the things that matter most to you.

Conclusion:

Time is one of our most precious commodities—but it's also a finite resource. If you're looking for ways to buy back some of your precious time, be diligent in exploring the options discussed here and explore for more. By taking advantage of various strategies, you can easily free up several hours each week to focus on the things that matter most to you.

And isn't that what we all want? More time to do the things we love!