When I walked into personal finance as a freshman in high school, the first and most important lesson I learned about budgeting was to pay myself. I was taught that in order to make a proper budget, which everyone should, I should take my monthly income and prioritize various categories detailing how I wanted to spend it. However, the twist was that savings had to be a top priority. In essence, I had to pay myself every month in savings rather than just the leftovers of whatever I didn't spend. This creates consistent savings and healthy spending habits.
The same budgeting technique can and should be applied to managing time. We all have 24 hours in a day, which is analogous to our income. In addition, we all need sleep, which is analogous to our savings. My advice is simply paying yourself in the form of sleep. Most of the American population has the attitude of getting everything else done before sleep, and often sacrificing sleep for recreation. However, just like you should pre determine how much money you should save for the month and stick to it, you should also pre determine how much you should sleep before you plan your day. In short, budget your time just like you would budget your money and make sleep a priority. After all, if you wouldn’t spend all of your savings in one night on a dinner, then do not spend all of you time eating instead of sleeping.
Well how much sleep do I need to budget for myself? The answer is unique to everyone and a little research goes a long way. However, 12-year-olds and up generally need 7-9 hours every 24 hours to feel optimal. In order to feel the most energized, you should always go to sleep within an hour of the previous night. However, I do not write these article for average people, I speak to people with passions and people who strive to be better than the norm. Those people who strive for excellence should sleep 8-10 hours per night, and that includes weekends. My guess is that 90% of the people reading this sleep less than the healthy amount for their lifestyle, and my goal is to change that. Please, help me change the culture of people in recent years and just plan your schedule so you can sleep a healthy amount. Trust me, you will be much more energy efficient and get the same amount done in your day.
The bottom line is that humans have three basic necessities: food, water, and sleep. The underlying issue is that sleep is often overlooked in contemporary times. It seems the social norm among Americans is that sleep is optional, and even looked down upon by some as “for the weak.” Sleep deprivation is no joke and can lead to several potentially fatal mental disorders including depression. Sleep deprivation also encourages people to abuse the most commonly used drug in the world: caffeine, which has countless other downsides. Most importantly, proper amounts of sleep lead to productive, energy efficient days without the need to abuse performance-enhancing drugs. This article only scratches the surface on the dilemma of sleep deprivation worldwide and budgeting time for sleep is a potential solution.
Yes, nobody ever looks back on their life and remembers the nights they got enough sleep, but nobody looks back on their life and fondly remembers the days after they did not get enough sleep.
