If time were visible, we’d probably treat it very differently. If you could see it leaving your account every time you opened an app, agreed to a distraction, or filled a quiet moment with noise, you’d probably be more careful with it. You’d think twice before handing it over. You’d ask whether it was worth the cost.
But time is ‘invisible’ in a way, which makes it easy to spend without noticing.
We talk about money as if it’s the most valuable thing we own, but money can be earned back. Time can’t. Once it’s gone, we can’t earn more. And yet most of us give it away far more freely than we ever would cash.
And it goes so fast. One minute you’re planning the week ahead, the next you’re wondering how it’s already mid-December.
Time and attention is a finite resource
Psychologists describe attention as a limited cognitive resource. At any given moment, there is only so much of it available. Wherever it’s directed, time follows. Some time feels well spent. It leaves you feeling connected, calm, interested, present. Other time disappears without leaving much behind. You know you were busy, but you’re not quite sure with what.
Whatever has your attention is effectively spending your time on your behalf. That’s why this matters. In fact, it’s one of the most valuable resources in the modern world.
If your attention wasn’t valuable, no one would be fighting for it
There’s a reason phones, apps and platforms work so hard to keep you engaged. Your attention has measurable financial value. It drives advertising revenue, data collection, and profit. The longer you stay, the more valuable you are. Entire industries exist to capture, hold and monetise your focus.
Infinite scrolling, notifications, personalised feeds, autoplay. These aren’t conveniences. They’re extraction tools. The sheer scale of effort put into capturing your attention should tell you something important: your time is worth a lot to someone. The question is whether it’s being spent on things that are worth it to you.
What does your time actually buy you?
When you spend money, you usually expect something in return. Comfort, security, enjoyment, freedom. Time deserves the same level of scrutiny.
Some uses of time pay you back. It’s an investment with returns. Time spent with people you love. Time spent learning, resting, creating, being outside. They shape learning, memory, relationships and wellbeing.
Other uses offer very little return. Endless content you don’t remember. Distraction that leaves you feeling strangely depleted. Time that disappears without adding much of anything.
None of this is about never scrolling or living perfectly. It’s about recognising that not all time is equal, and not all uses of it are good investments.
When time is shared, its value becomes obvious
There are moments when the value of time is harder to ignore. Christmas is one of them. We gather with people we don’t see often. Time feels limited. Conversations matter more because there isn’t an endless supply of them. This is where the cost of distraction becomes clearer.
Time isn’t just a personal asset. It’s something we offer to others. Being present with someone is, at its core, giving them your time and attention. Listening without distraction. These moments carry weight because time is scarce.
There’s even a term for what happens when a phone interrupts these moments: phubbing, or phone snubbing. Studies show that when one person checks their phone during a conversation, the other feels less valued, even if the interruption is brief. It’s why the idea that ‘presence is the best present’ resonates. You can buy someone a gift, but attention and presence is what stays with people and feels sentimental.
Protecting your time doesn’t require perfection
You don’t need to optimise every minute or cut yourself off from the world. But treating time like the valuable resource it is does require awareness.
It means noticing when your attention is being pulled rather than chosen. Questioning whether something deserves your time before handing it over. Creating small boundaries where time is protected rather than open for grabs.
Phones make it very easy to spend time without deciding to. Protecting your time means reintroducing choice.
What will you give your time to?
Time will be spent, whether consciously or not. The only real question is on what. Your time is valuable, so it’s worth asking where it’s going and who benefits from it? Ask yourself:
- Where did most of my time and attention go recently?
- What actually felt worth that time?
- Am I investing my time well? (Eg. there’s a result from it)
- Is there something better I could be doing with my time?
Because once you start seeing time as a currency, it becomes clear that attention isn’t something to give away lightly. Time is your most valuable asset. Spend it like it matters.
