The One Thing Everyone Shares
Virat Kohli has 24 hours in a day. Elon Musk has 24 hours. The richest person in the world has 24 hours. And so do you.
This is remarkable when you think about it. Money can be inherited. Intelligence varies. Opportunities differ. But time? Time is the one resource distributed equally to every human being.
The question is not how much time you have. The question is: What are you doing with it?
Where Does Your Time Actually Go?
Let us do some honest maths. In a typical day:
- •Sleep: 8 hours (you need this for your brain to work)
- •School: 6-7 hours (including travel)
- •Meals and getting ready: 2 hours
- •Homework: 2 hours
That leaves roughly 4-5 hours of free time. Now, where does that go?
For most people: scrolling social media, watching videos, gaming, chatting. Not bad things in themselves. But what if you tracked every hour for a week? Would you be proud of how you spent them?
The average teenager spends 4-6 hours per day on screens. That is almost all their free time. That is 1,500-2,000 hours per year. Imagine what you could build, learn, or become with that time.
The Resource You Cannot Get Back
Here is the hard truth about time: It only flows one way.
If you lose money, you can earn more. If you break something, you can fix it or buy another. If you fail an exam, you can retake it.
But yesterday? Yesterday is gone forever. The hour you spent doing nothing useful this morning? You will never get it back. Not for any amount of money.
This is not meant to make you anxious. It is meant to help you see time for what it truly is: your most precious resource.
Spend Time Like You Spend Money
Imagine you had a bank account that received 86,400 rupees every morning. But there is a catch: whatever you do not spend that day disappears at midnight. No saving, no carrying over.
What would you do? You would spend every rupee wisely. You would not waste a single one.
That bank account is real. It is called time. You receive 86,400 seconds every day. At midnight, they vanish.
So ask yourself: If time were money, would you be rich or poor? Would you be investing or wasting?
Taking Control of Your Time
Managing time is not about being busy every second. It is about being intentional. Here are three starting points:
1. Track Before You Change
For one week, write down what you do each hour. Most people are shocked when they see where their time actually goes. You cannot manage what you do not measure.
2. Identify Your Time Thieves
What activities eat your time without giving much back? Endless scrolling? Getting lost in YouTube recommendations? Arguing online? Name them. Then decide what to do about them.
3. Protect Your Best Hours
When are you most alert and focused? Morning? Evening? Guard those hours fiercely. Use them for things that matter, not for mindless browsing.
Ancient Wisdom: Thirukkural on Time
Over 2,000 years ago, the Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar wrote about the preciousness of time and opportunity:
"எய்தற் கரியது இயைந்தக்கால் அந்நிலையே
செய்தற் கரிய செயல்."
Meaning: "When a rare opportunity comes, act immediately—do what is hard to do." (Kural 489)
Thiruvalluvar understood that time and opportunity are closely linked. The right action at the right time creates success. The same action delayed may be worthless.
Key Takeaways
- ✓Everyone has exactly 24 hours per day—time is the great equaliser
- ✓Time is the only resource you can never get back once spent
- ✓Most people have no idea where their time actually goes
- ✓Treat time like money: track it, protect it, spend it wisely
- ✓Ancient wisdom teaches: seize the moment or lose everything
Reflection Question
If you tracked every hour of your day for a week, what would you discover? What activities would you want to spend more time on? What would you want to cut?
There is no right answer. The point is to become aware of how you currently spend your time.