Your one non-renewable resource

Your one non-renewable resource

For any project, the three primary resources are time, money, and people. And with any project (and in life itself) the only resource that is non-renewable is time. You can always find more money and you can always add more people, but you can never recover time spent on a project. (Yes, you can add time to a project, but that just means the project finishes later; you haven't actually renewed time.)

Why does this matter? Because time is non-renewable, you should guard it very jealously. Not only your own time but anyone else working on the project. That means only "using" someone's time when you absolutely have to.

For example, are you having a meeting to discuss the project? Will the meeting involve only sharing of information or will it involve decision-making also? If it's only information sharing, more often than not the information can be shared by memo/email. Don't get ten people in a Zoom meeting for half an hour just to talk. That's time lost forever.

And should a decision come down to adding more time or adding more expense, always choose the latter. You can always find more money (renewable) but you can't renew time.

Wes's Wednesday Wisdom Archives

Should you chug or sip?

October 21, 2026

Should you chug or sip? I was recently meeting with two staff at a client […]

Why bother with a consultant when I have AI?

October 14, 2026

Why bother with a consultant when I have AI? As AI becomes increasingly powerful, the […]

Guardrails can be helpful!

October 7, 2026

Guardrails can be helpful! When selecting a new AMS, I find my clients are often […]

“If you knew this information, what might you do differently?”

September 30, 2026

“If you knew this information, what might you do differently?” I had a conversation with […]

Showing is not teaching

September 23, 2026

Showing is not teaching In my experience, when new staff members are taught how to […]

Data management is improvisation

September 16, 2026

Data management is improvisation I was listening to a podcast recently featuring TV writer Rob […]

Who own the AMS company is like the weather…

September 9, 2026

Who own the AMS company is like the weather… When I work with clients to […]

“As good or better than me.”

September 2, 2026

“As good or better than me.” I was recently speaking with a software developer working […]

Documentation is insurance

August 26, 2026

Documentation is insurance In a conversation with a client about their data management needs, the client […]

It all comes down to fundamentals

August 12, 2026

It all comes down to fundamentals I’m preparing for a webinar that I’m presenting in […]

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top