I’m sure this is a dilemma which faces most people at some point in their lives, many on a daily basis. What is more important; money or your time? Is working a 60 hour week with no free evenings, no weekends and no time with your family and friends worth it if you make plenty of money? Or is it ok to make less money but have more free time to do the things we enjoy doing? I worry sometimes that today’s society is so work driven that many people have forgotten what it’s like to do the things they enjoy and define themselves by their job title rather than their personality or virtues. Indeed I am discovering more and more often that without work people have no idea what to do with their time. Whatever happened to hobbies and interests? Making the most of time off?

Of course, money is vital. Without it we couldn’t live and essentially it is what makes the modern world go round. I love meeting people who have chosen a career or a job because they genuinely enjoy it, because I think that this is happening less and less. Very few people you will come across nowadays have a real affection for their occupation and even fewer actually enjoy going to work.  I often wonder whether people are making their career choices purely driven by money, or because if they were honest with themselves, they don’t really know what else to do…?

I have decided to take a part time job-share for next year and I have been amazed at how many people have looked at me in surprise and asked ‘What will you do instead?’ Managing to fill my days with activities I enjoy has never been something I’ve struggled with, yet so many can not possibly comprehend what else I would do with my time if I’m not at work. Which brings me back to my question. Has money become more important than time? Has working and earning taken over people’s lives to such an extent that they no longer yearn for those things they enjoy, instead unquestioningly accepting the fact that they must work and earn as much money as is humanly possible?

I’ve said it before and I’m sure this isn’t the last time it’ll be referred to here. We are only here once and we need to make the most of it. When I’m an elderly lady and reflecting on my life and choices, I don’t want to look back and wish that I hadn’t spent the majority of my life on earth slogging away at work. I’d like to look back and realise that yes, I could have had more money and lived a more lavish lifestyle, but instead I chose to live a simpler life, doing the things I enjoy and living life to the full.