Most precious resource

Bronislav Klučka on Jul 07, 2025, 10:03 PM

Many things can be regained or replaced. A house, a car, money - all of that comes and goes. There is a resource more precious than money or gold. Time. Time is a great equalizer; everyone has the same amount - 24 hours a day. There is no way to have more. The only thing you can do is manage it.

Have you ever heard people to say "I do not have enough time"? I'm not talking about tasks with deadlines, I'm not talking about work. Sometimes the deadlines or the load is too much and you simply need more time to finish it all. I'm talking about:

• "I want to go to the gym, but I don't have time."
• "I want to read this book, but I don't have time."
• "I want to learn this skill, but I don't have time."

So how come others have time? Let's talk about it.

Discipline

First and foremost, I'm talking about self-discipline, not discipline imposed on you by someone else.

Discipline sounds negative. But self-discipline actually creates freedom. Why? Because it gives you control and freedom. It controls how you spend your time in order to improve, while the rest can be used for relaxation without the guilt of wasting time. The same goes for money. It prevents random spending on nonsense while allowing for controlled entertainment.

Discipline creates space for work, self-improvement, and rest. With discipline, you are in control of your time rather than letting random events and other people control it.

There's a lot of talk about motivation. But motivation is a feeling. One day, you feel motivated; the next day, you feel like asking, "Why bother?" And it's not easy to control feelings. Discipline is different, discipline is a conscientious choice.

The worst thing you can do is negotiate with yourself. You wake up in the morning, but you don't have to get up. You promised yourself that you would, but then the thoughts start: "I don't want to get up. Maybe I'll start tomorrow. What's the point?" If you start negotiating or saying, "But I said I would," you'll probably lose. As they say: "you do not negotiate with terrorist". So, don't negotiate with those thoughts. Acknowledge them and get up.

Three times a week, I wake up at 4:30 a.m., not because I have to, but because I want to spend 45 minutes in the morning with myself in peace. Then, I go to the gym and arrive at my client's office before 10 a.m. I have to wake up at 4:30 a.m. to be able to do that. I almost never want to get up. Who would? But I just do it.

One part of the brain is whining and yapping, while the other is planning the day.

The important thing to understand is that this part of the brain evolved over millions of years to protect us. Its purpose is to conserve energy, avoid danger, and hide or run. It's not sabotaging us on purpose. It evolved to do so. However, we do have a choice.

It's not about having little time; it's about how you choose to spend it.

Now, we are not robots; we may falter. Occasionally, maybe once every six months, I don't get up. I don't beat myself up about it; that would create doubt. Instead, I acknowledge it and continue with the routine tomorrow.

It does get easier. Not just waking up, your routine may be different, but also doing what you said you would do, even when part of you really doesn't want to.

Time compounds

It's fairly straightforward, isn't it? But let me tell you a story :)

I hate cleaning up. I hate everything about it. The second I pick something up to put it in its place, I get bored. You should have seen my place! Sometimes I considered making a project out of it and spending a few hours cleaning up. Of course, I found an excuse not to every time.

Consistency beats intensity every time.

Instead of making it into a project that I'll never finish, I started small. I simply started with ten minutes a day. There was no negotiation. Sure, I didn't want to. I was bored. Just do it. Ten minutes.

There is not much you can clean in ten minutes.

Ten minutes a day for three weeks? That's three and a half hours. What can you clean in 3.5 hours? A lot. My flat never looked cleaner.

Consistency beats intensity every time.

Would you like to work on your projects and improve your skills? An hour a day adds up to 365 hours a year. With an eight-hour workday and five workdays per week, that's over nine workweeks!

Start small

I didn't start out waking up at 4:30 a.m. Actually, when I started more than two years ago, I woke up at 6:00 a.m., went to the gym, and then went to work. Then, I started waking up at 5:00 a.m., and now I wake up at 4:30 a.m.

When I first started going to the gym, I began with an hour or so and light weights. Now, I exercise for two hours and twenty minutes with twice the weight I started with.

Make it sustainable; build it slowly. Don't burn yourself out.

Do you want to lose weight? Build a sustainable diet.

The most important thing

I'm just some dude, a regular guy. If I can do it, you can too. The choice is yours.

Today is one of those days. I'd rather be in bed. I don't want to be here typing this. But the plan was to come home from my client and work on this blog. So that's what I'm doing. And now? I'm happy that I didn't give up. I'm happy that I was able to write this. I'm happy that I might be able to help someone.

Worth it!