Jazz and Jacksons

In college, I played piano for our school’s Jazz Big Band. We went to a competition each year in Chicago, which meant that we got to ride a charter bus there and stay in a fancy hotel for a weekend each spring on the school’s dime. The first trip we took, our band director stood at the door of the bus and, as everyone loaded in, he handed each student three crisp $20 bills as they boarded. I had no idea what was happening, but I took the money when it was my turn without any questions. When I got onto the bus and sat down next to my drummer buddy, I looked at him and said, “What’s up with us all getting cash?” His reply, in that semi-high, smug college tone that we all know so well was,

“It’s per diem, man.”

Some of us spent the money on booze. Some on meals we hadn’t been able to afford in months. Some just pocketed the cash, ate pb&j they brought, and used it to help pay rent upon returning home. There were no questions asked about how the dollars were spent; each of us had complete liberty to use it however we wanted. I will decline to comment on how I spent mine.

This experience taught me something incredibly valuable, not just about money, but about time. Humanity is a socialist state when it comes to time – we all get the same amount to work with every day. It's per diem, man.

If someone were to make a pie chart of your time spent each day over the last 7 days, what would it look like? We can easily reach for the rose-colored glasses here and get overly optimistic on how we spend our time but I challenge you to really take an honest look at what that picture might show.

What percentage of your time is spent on IPA’s, or Income Producing Activities?

What percentage is spent building your family relationships and pouring into those you lead at home?

What percentage is spent building your team at work?

What percentage is spent on activities that benefit only you?

What percentage is spent resting and preparing yourself to be productive and effective with your waking hours?

Each of these is vitally important to personal, family, and organizational health BUT…if we get these out of balance, out of order, or neglect them completely, we are reflecting priorities that we may not want to admit are incongruent with the results we want in life. How you spend your time is THE LOUDEST VOICE to those in your world about what is most important to you and directly correlated to accomplishing your goals. Is the way you spend your time aligned with your goals? If not, perhaps it's time to adjust how you are burning your minutes - you never get them back.

Every day takes us somewhere. No matter what bus you get on today, you are handed the same 24 hours as every other person breathing. It's per diem, man - and it’s yours to spend however you choose. Try not to spend it all on booze.

Lean forward,

Bekka