Time: The new currency, the millennial understanding.
Time has always been revered and proposed as a rare commodity, something that we cannot regain once lost. however intangible it may still appear to display tangible damage when played with and ignored We have been throughout our formative years been taught, right from the Value Ed classes that start in the morning to the last bell in an examination. The teaching fraternity that exists would appreciate that there has been a revolution in my honest opinion to quantify this concept of time, and mostly by the new generation of entrepreneurs and businessmen- people who have emerged in trying times forgive the pun. But we must be mindful of how we manage our time, this is to me would be the next big thing let me explain- and in some cases literally, be able to pay with time.
Instant gratification: Those likes on Facebook, little share buttons on Instagram, support buttons on LinkedIn. All these help you act instantly to decide if the content be it in terms of an article, picture reel is propagated through social media and people are “called to take action”. Why is this relevant you may ask, the answer is simple to remember the catchphrase “30minutes Nahi tho free”? This has evolved to “10-minute groceries” Thanks to the pandemic, instant payments are here to stay, adapt evolve and move on is the motto of the human race. The disadvantage in my opinion is that people are often distracted and are constantly checking their phones for updates on status/number of likes etc.
With the number of options that a customer has, it is a matter of time that business shifts from one entity to another.
Digital payments: In a country that loves cash, we moved to digital payments overnight thanks to the pandemic. The vegetable vendor that carts his wares door to door to the retail stores every one accepts GPay/Phonepe and the likes. We have moved away from papers in everyday banking, it’s all available on an app. Except for the boomers who now are slowly and steadily moving towards online transactions, not all would those who are retired and have time may not even consider. Don’t have to carry your wallet everywhere, save TIME counting exchanging cash and double checking if you have received the correct amount of change, however, you must Pause and carefully do your transaction over the phone. IKEA Dubai has taken this to a whole new level, you can pay at an Ikea store with the time you take to travel from your home to the store. This is the first instance where you can use time as a currency
Learning: I remember growing up when I was in Higher secondary school. The best schools were downtown in Bombay now Mumbai. If you have been there for more than 5 days or watched an erstwhile Bollywood film where the protagonist is based in Mumbai you would realize the fastest way to get around is by “Local trains” or the open-air subway. That is one city I lived in where distance is measured in Time, you would calculate the amount of time that it would take you to reach from Point A to B — via multiple modes of transport or a combination of a few. To reach your destination you would have to plan your travel right from an entry point into the train/bus to the exit. Apologies for the long prelude to the main topic in this paragraph but you must understand how intricate details affect daily life in a student. With the pretext set above students often are found learning in the local train, much against the advice of our wise older generation. This too has changed in ways platforms like EdX and LinkedIn allows the user to learn/ready on the go with bite-size content 3–5 minutes long. Here I laud the mindset that allows the learner to learn at their pace, not time-bound and flexibility to use the time when available. ROI is a concept that is prevalent in education institutes, Edtech companies because this is the question learners are asking, what will I EARN after I complete a course. On a lighter side conveniently dropped the “L”
Relationships: these are nurtured over time; this is a concept that can be limited to the personal sphere of time. Business relationships to require time as an investment.
The cost of doing business is time, the amount of time you invest in carefully planning every minute of how you will unfold your business plan, how effectively you stick to deadlines is something that is organizational defining. Taking time to interact with team members bonding with them in a social setting is investing time in employees. The key is to effectively manage this with work. For departments that are into procurement will understand that time is a key
An interesting thing I learnt while writing this:
Cost of delayed decision. Investments when started early with smaller amounts yield larger benefits.
Using the below formulae, you would understand
Principal amount X (1+ rate of interest) number of years
Refer to the above table you can understand that person A INR 10000 at the age of 20, you would get an amount of at the end of 20 years with an interest of 8% with the amount slightly higher and lesser number of years person B is still not able to achieve the same amount. However, person C invests 2.15 times more than A and can reach the same end. that my friend is the cost of a delayed decision, it costs you a higher amount if you put off something you can begin early.
I have used this particular example to explain in monetary terms, but this could easily translate to other spheres of life. Let me know where you think this could be applied would love a spirited conversation.
I hope you liked reading this, it is my first attempt at writing, I will put more thoughts in a while. I hope you would allow me some time and give me constructive feedback. Until then live long and prosper!