Spend time on things that will never know or on people who will never forget?

​One of the things I want to get better at in 2022 is time. Not so much time management, but time impact.

How much of my time is making an impact?

More and more, when I think of making an impact, I think of people. I have had some people show up in my life the last few years who have offered things, said things, held space for things, showed up in tough spaces to help me do tough things - things I will never forget.

They have invested their time to make an impact on me.

It's powerful to consider that when I get to thinking about my own time. Every second, there is an opportunity to use my time in a way someone will never forget - or conversely, on a something that will never know it. Let alone remember it.

I'm not suggesting my goal is to make every single second a moment of human impact. Although, what's the downside to that? But I would like to put enough pressure on myself toward that end that maybe in those moments when I'm scrolling away on a thing, a voice might ask me - will anyone remember this?

Is this a never forget moment in anyone's life?

The reality is, we have no greater resource in life than time. None. Yet, we don't track our time or think about how we use it nearly as vigilantly as we do our money or our food or our exercise or even our car maintenance.

That's not a good thing if you're interested in making the kind of impact with your time that you want to make with your money. That's not a good thing if you want to do things for people they will never forget.

I think it's a worthwhile reflection to add to the end of a day this year. How much time did I spend today on things that will never know it? How much time did I spend today on people who will never forget it?

In case we get to thinking too grand when I talk about doing things people will never forget. I have a small stack of Christmas cards sitting next to my work space here as I write. Cards people reached out and said, hey, I need your new address in order to send them.

Cards that all came on perfect days and cards I will never forget.

I don't say that to shame anyone who didn't send me a Christmas card. I sent out exactly zero! I say it as a reminder that using our time to make an unforgettable impact IS NOT an unimaginable challenge.

It's just not as easy as scrolling on our phone.

Time impact. It's something to think about this year.