7 Things The Richest of the Rich Always Make The Time To Do

A few crucial time-management tacts to glean from the wealthy

Most people dream of being rich. And even if they don’t care to have so much money to handle or to run a Fortune 500 company, we all want to live well — to live with a reasonable amount of comfort, pleasure, and fulfillment — all of which the American-deemed “rich life” seem to provide. The question is, is that true? And if it is, how do we emulate the rich in a way that will give us the rich life we so direly crave?

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” — Winston Churchill
To answer those two questions, I’d like to dive into seven things that rich people have in common that often differs from the way the average human operates their life. These, I hope, are not superficial differences, but intentional decisions made my financially and emotionally wealthy people that could significantly impact your life for the better if they were to become your decisions as well.

1 || Their essentials are scheduled

Rich people don’t waste time thinking they can get out of the important things. They know that if their goal is to be a great parent, get fit, and read a book a day, then they simultaneously know that there needs to be solid timeframes in their schedule to allow for reading bedtime stories, working out, and reading.

“It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near one.” — J.R.R. Tolkien
Successful and wealthy people understand that their time is going to spend itself if they don’t budget it out effectively. They never assume that anything is just going to happen, they make it happen. Learn the same, and you just might be able to master your time and eventually master your money as well.

2 || They learn about themselves/grow constantly

One thing I always notice about people i truly admire, whether they be histocial figures, current celebrities, or productivity gurus I watch on YouTube, is that they all have one thing in common — they spend a lot of their time learning and pouring into themselves overall. These people know how to invest in themselves, and do so in a way that makes me jealous, honestly.

“It’s simple arithmetic: your income can grow only to the extent that you do.” — T. Hary Eker
Not only do they invest great amounts of money in courses, books, and seminars, but they are putting in a lot of time into these things. Every successful person I know or have ever heard of has some sort of regular practice that involves learning, growing, and being poured into in some way, whether that be through a book or some of in-person coaching or mentorship.

3 || They distinguish between recipes and routines

“Routines” are great. So are habits. In fact, the vast majority of self-development materials, I’d say, have something to do with habit building and learning to do the same things each and every day to be successful, or at least to feel such. However, one thing has always bothered me about this concept. It seems kind of pointless. It’s not that you’re not getting anything out of it, it’s simply that you decide to pursue a habit with no sort of end game.

“To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination. It means to know where you’re going so that you better understand where you are now and so that the steps you take are always in the right direction.” — Stephen R. Covey
And that’s where recipes come in. In light of Stephen Covey’s timeless suggestion to Begin With The End In Mind, I’d implore you to adopt more of a recipe than a routine mindset. Recipes are plans set out my a chef or cook that they know will produce a particular desired effect. Routines are simply things you do over and over again. Recipes are more intentional, adaptable, and future-thinking. The richest of the rich have recipes — things that they’ve carefully crafted to produce a desired outcome in their life, at will, seemingly.

4 || They make time for deep and meaningful work

One thing that the rich never fail to make time for is the work that really matters to them. Whether that be Elon Musk with his Tesla engineering projects, or a certain famous coach writing a book for their fans, the rich set time for the really important and focus-intensive projects in their life.

“If time is money, how much is a lifetime?”
― Ljupka Cvetanova, The New Land
Not only that, but they make sure that this work that they’re setting aside is meaningful. That means that it’s meaningful for their fans and customers, and will produce some sort of profitable effect in one way or another, but will also be fulfilling for themselves in some way.

5 || They engage in “active leisure activities”

When I first heard the term “active leisure activities”, I completely and totally believed that it was made up. When I looked a little more into it, though, I realized that it was in fact a thing and was an important term to define outside of our traditional leisure activities, especially in the lazy ole United States. Oftentimes, in our culture, our leisure activities are reduced to watching television, scrolling through Instagram, and binging YouTube and Netflix.

“Leisure is the time for doing something useful. This leisure the diligent person will obtain, the lazy one never.” — Benjamin Franklin
Active leisure activities are a little bit different. These are the activities that require a lot more mental and physical energy. These can be like getting out and playing sports for fun, reading a book, completing a game of some sort with friends, or volunteering. These activities are not only relaxing in many ways, but can also help you get connected, find fulfillment, and overall take a break from work to realize that there are more ways to enjoy life elsewhere.

6 || They make time for pouring into others

Rich people know that they are at the top for more than just making a lot of money and using that money to have fun and “live life to the fullest”. These people almost always understand the incredible importance of giving back. Whether this be through donating money to local charities, schools, and programs, it can also be seen through the way they treat their employees, their family, and more.

“Be happy when you work, thankful when you earn, cautious when you spend, shrewd when you save, and charitable when you give.”― Matshona Dhliwayo
People who are wealthy and good take time to stop and see the people around them, making sure that they’re taken care of and that they are prepared to keep working for them. They understand the human elements of their business, recognize it, and make actions according to it. They can also become quite good at pouring into their families, if they count familial wealth as part of their overall wealth at the end of the day.

7 || They make time for pouring into themselves

Wealthy people understand that they can’t pour from an empty cup, and that they should reinvest in themselves to not only make your money, but to live an exponentially greater life. This is a little bit deeper than learning — this goes beyond sitting down and reading a book so that they’ll have more information in their mind. People who pour into themselves make sure that they’re ready to fully show up in the situations that they need to show up in.

“A poor man knows the true value of money and will not dare waste it, but a rich man is extravagant and always looking for an opportunity to empty his pockets.”― Michael Bassey Johnson
Examples of how this can be achieved that come to mind include mediation, journaling, having a conversation with a mentor or therapist to process different things, and planning out an incredible but low-stress week if it’s needed. Overall, they understand that they need to, as Dr. Stephen Covey would have put it, sharpen the saw regularly. In everything, they need to make sure that they’re running well — and that they can keep going on.

If they can’t, the whole system falls apart and none of the habits don’t really matter that much. In the end, this habit is about checking in and making sure you’re on the right track. No one else can do that for you, and it’s all up to you.

Make sure you’re pouring into yourself, as well as using all the other tips given in this piece. And always, good luck!

CONTRIBUTED BY Katie E. Lawrence

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