Time: Our Way of Organising Change

Think about the first light of dawn. It doesn’t flicker on like a bedroom switch. It’s a slow, gentle shift from deep indigo to a soft, fiery orange. The rooster doesn’t crow because a clock hits 6 AM; he feels the change in the air, the subtle shift in the light. The world wakes up not by the hour, but by a rhythm, a series of changes so ancient we barely notice them anymore.

We, on the other hand, live by the tick. The alarm jolts us. The clock on the wall judges us. Deadlines chase us. We’ve become so obsessed with measuring time that we’ve forgotten what it’s actually for. We fight against it, trying to “save” it or “spend” it wisely, often feeling like we’re losing the battle.

But what if we’ve got it all wrong? A philosophical idea; a powerful shift in perspective that can change how you manage your energy, your money, and your entire life.

The Rhythm of the World

Long before smartphones and wristwatches, people organised their lives around change. The rising and setting of the sun. The cycle of the moon. The rainy season and the dry season. A farmer didn't need to know it was "3:30 PM"; he knew the day was waning because the shadows grew longer. The market was busy not from 8 to 5, but from when the first traders arrived until the last yam was sold.

This was life organised by observable, natural change. It was fluid. It had a rhythm.

Our modern invention of seconds, minutes, and hours is brilliant for coordination. It helps us meet for lunch and catch the bus. But the problem starts when we confuse the map for the territory. We treat time as a real, tangible thing that we’re running out of, rather than what it truly is: a human-made system for organising the constant flow of change happening around us.

You don’t run out of time. You experience a sequence of changes. The change from being awake to being asleep. The change from having a full pot of stew to an empty one. The change in your account balance after a market day.

Your Money: Tracking Change, Not Counting Hours

This is where the idea gets really practical, especially with your finances. We often think, "If I work for two more hours, I’ll make X amount." This ties money directly to time, which can be a frustrating and limiting way to live. It makes you feel like you’re on a treadmill.

But if you shift your view, you stop seeing money as a function of time and start seeing it as a measure of value exchange and change in resources.

Think about it. When you sell something at your shop, you’re not selling an hour. You’re providing a product or a service, and that transaction creates a change in your financial state. The goal isn’t to fill time; it’s to create meaningful, valuable changes.

A friend of mine, a talented seamstress, used to stress about how long a complicated dress would take her. She’d undercharge because she felt guilty about the "time" spent. Then she shifted. She stopped selling her hours and started selling the change she created. She wasn’t selling 10 hours of work; she was selling a transformation, from a plain piece of fabric to a stunning, custom-made outfit for a bride’s most important day. The value was in the change, not the minutes. And guess what? her customers were happier to pay for that value, and she felt far more rewarded.

Organising Your Life Around Meaningful Change

So, if time is just a construct, how should we organise our lives? By focusing on the changes that matter.

Instead of making a to-do list that says:

• Work from 9 to 5

• Cook dinner for 1 hour

• Watch TV for 2 hours

Try organising your day around desired changes:

• Change my financial state: Complete and send three invoices to clients.

• Change my family’s health: Prepare a nutritious meal for everyone to enjoy together.

• Change my knowledge: Read one chapter of that book I’ve been putting off.

• Change my spirit: Call my mother and have a real conversation.

Feel the difference? One is about filling slots. The other is about creating progress. It’s purposeful. It’s about moving from one state to a better one. This is how you move from being passive about your life to being an active participant in shaping it.

You May Ask

Why does this perspective matter for my daily budgeting?

Most budgeting forces you to look backwards, at where your money went over the past week or month. It’s like trying to drive by only looking in the rearview mirror. When you see money as a measure of change, your budget becomes a plan for future change. You’re not just tracking spending; you’re allocating resources to create the changes you want, like the change from renting to owning, or from being in debt to being free. It turns a chore into a powerful tool for designing your life.

Isn't time still a practical necessity for meetings and appointments?

No one is saying to abandon clocks! The idea isn’t to throw your watch away. It’s to understand that time is a fantastic tool for logistics, but a terrible master for your life. Use the clock to coordinate with others, but don’t let it dictate your worth, your stress levels, or how you measure your progress. Use the tool, don’t let the tool use you.

How can an app help with this kind of thinking?

A great app shouldn’t just be a digital ledger counting digits. It should help you visualise and plan for the changes you want. It should help you see the link between today’s choices and tomorrow’s realities. For instance, instead of just showing you spent X amount on transport, it could help you model the change in your savings if you switched to a different mode of transport once a week. It moves from tracking to enabling, helping you organise your financial changes more effectively.

Remember...

The universe operates on a rhythm of endless, beautiful change. We invented clocks to help us navigate that flow, but somewhere along the way, we started serving the clock instead of letting it serve us.

The universe doesn't recognize time it's just our way of organising change. When you internalise this, you stop fighting a losing battle against seconds and minutes. You start focusing on what truly matters: the growth, the progress, and the meaningful transformations.

You begin to measure your life not in years, but in the positive changes you’ve created, for yourself, your family, and your community. You start organising your days not around filling time, but around creating value. And that, right there, is how you build a life that feels truly rich, no matter what the clock says.