Last Wednesday I met a good friend for lunch in Spanish Fort, Alabama. Andrew and I met Leslie in law school at the University of Alabama where she lived across the small courtyard in Andrew’s apartment complex.
Leslie lives and practices law in Daphne, Alabama so we don’t get together often. We hadn’t seen each other in several years.
As soon as I sat down at the table, Leslie and I didn’t stop talking.
We talked about our families, our law practices, our yoga and meditation practices, our hobbies, our recent and upcoming travels, and our dreams for the future.
We talked about how to best organize our time. We talked about the books we were reading.
We talked about slowing down in our lives and how silly it is to feel guilty for wanting to do so.
We were a server’s nightmare. Our waitress returned multiple times to our table before we were finally ready to order. We were talking so much and so fast that we never even peeked at our menu during the first 45 minutes.
Our time together reminded me why I try to take Wednesdays off—a day just for me to reenergize, catch up with long lost friends, and do whatever strikes my fancy.
Our time together reminded me that you and I have something hugely important in common with celebrities like Brad Pitt, business moguls like Warren Buffett, and billionaires such as Bill Gates.
We all have 168 hours in our week and we have the freedom to choose how we spend those hours.
Breaking those hours down further, our weeks can be divided into three 56 hour buckets of time.
If you sleep eight hours a night, sleep takes up one entire bucket. No sweat. Your body and mind need the rest to recharge. You still have two buckets of time left.
If you are still working or running a business full-time, that takes up your second bucket when you factor in your commute time.
But that still leaves you and I with a third bucket of 56 hours that is just for us.
This third bucket is when we spend time with friends and family. It’s when we eat, play, exercise, watch our kids’ sporting events, read, explore, watch a movie, learn a new language, play a musical instrument, plan our next vacation, journal, meditate, paint a picture, daydream, love, and plan for our future. There is no limit to how you and I spend the time in our third buckets.
And guess what? This bucket is “use it or lose it.” No rolling over our hours into the next week. No banking the hours for a rainy day.
You and I truly get to design exactly how we spend the time from our third bucket.
For me, having lunch with Leslie reminded me to not take the time from my third bucket for granted. To not squander it on meaningless activities. To be more proactive in catching up with long lost friends. To spend time with those that I love. To use the time doing the things that I enjoy doing.
After all, there will come a day when I no longer have any more buckets of time left.
I have the privilege of sharing time in my client’s third buckets as we plan their estates and their family’s futures.
I have the privilege of assisting clients as we design their estate plans to protect their loved ones and simplify the transition of their hard-earned money and assets when their third buckets have expired.
As a natural planner and having 25 years of experience, I have the background and perspective to help guide my clients in designing and implementing solid estate plans that benefit them and their families.
Building and working in My Pink Lawyer® is how I’ve chosen to spend my second bucket of time.
My challenge to you today is to reflect on how you’ve been spending YOUR third bucket of time.
Do the activities in your third bucket energize you or leave you drained?
Do you have a dream of learning something new or exploring new places?
Have you been meaning to call a long-lost friend?
My friend, I can’t promise you tomorrow but I can promise you this very moment.
You are reading this post from me during your third bucket of time and for that I am extremely grateful and humbled.
But when you finish reading, I encourage you to plan or do something fun for yourself that you’ve neglected for far too long.
Go for that long walk. Pick up the phone and reach out to someone you love. Order that book that you’ve been wanting to read.
Or, reach out to me so we can get your estate affairs in order.
Close your email. Snooze your Facebook alerts. Forget about the dirty clothes in the corner.
Do something new this week with your third bucket.
You deserve it, my friend.
Kristen “Armchair Philosopher This Week” Marks
P.S. You can schedule time with me here when you’re ready to invest some of your third bucket time getting your estate affairs in order.
