Deathbed Regrets

It would seem, if one was to make a list across several thousand people, who, upon their deathbed, listed their regrets, a handful or so would mention not spending more time at the proverbial office, out of a sheer statistical likelihood. The other such items on the list, no doubt, would include any combination of things like spending more time with family, eating healthier, going to the gym, owning a better house, leaving more money as a will to the grandchildren, travelling more, pursuing a favorite hobby, learning new skills, keeping in touch with lost friends, pursuing that new career opportunity and so on. This list, at a glance, is contradictory with the idea of spending more time in the office, as, in order to complete much, if not all of the examples on our list, one would need time out of the office, not in it. If a contradiction exists, so writes Ayn Rand, check your premises; there is no such thing as a contradiction.

Without jumping to the conclusion that, for my theory to be correct the orator of regrets must be lying, there is a question I would first pose as an integral part of this mystery. What, if anything, prevented any such deathbed-ridden person from pursuing and removing their regrets? Truly, there are entire branches of philosophy dedicated to defining what a regret is, what motivates them, and how to disperse them, but on a more simplistic level, it likely boils down to either a lack of time, or a lack of money. We can safely say that if it was a lack of interest, whatever it was could not properly be called a regret, and, given time and money, interest is the only possible other factor in determining how one spends their time. Therefore, based on the fact that a task necessarily had to hold the orator's interest, it must be for lack of money or time that, upon his deathbed, he lamented it as a regret.

Putting finances on hold for the moment, the idea is contradictory that the orator of a regret could simultaneously wish to have had the time to pursue his unfulfilled actions, and wanted to spend time at the office, as I claim. Again, let us shift the question from how this paradox can exist, and examine another question: within our aforementioned list of likely regrets - or even, within a list that can be thought reasonable by anyone - are mundane tasks that appear to contribute little or nothing to one's quality of life likely to appear? Outside of our rare statistical chance, it would be fair to believe that not many orators of regret are lamenting not taking a lengthier morning shower, or more time in traffic, or more time reading newspapers. This is, of course, to say nothing of a regret of "not slowing down and smelling the flowers" as conventional wisdom might quote - and which, if I may say so, is a reasonable regret - but only challenges the idea that, if given the time, the orator of regrets would spend it on mundane tasks.

With time and interest momentarily questioned, the aspect of money comes into light. How many regrets, I must wonder, are borne of a lack of resources to be able to pursue them, if time and interest are sufficient? Most regrets, if not all, have a financial aspect to them, and one that, likely due to the magnitude of the grandiose plan we are all susceptible to making, carries with it a large price tag. It would be, considering that the proverbial office is the source of finances, illogical to say that an orator of regrets could have possibly wished and pined for something that carries a heavy price, while simultaneously wishing to avoid the means of paying said price. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to say that, excluding the metrics of time and interest, at least, for the moment, an orator of regrets who lists any such thing that carries a price tag, would be indirectly lamenting his lack of funds, as a result of insufficient time at the office. He would be, albeit not in these exact words, regretting not spending as much time in the office. 

A feedback loop occurs with this logic, however. Spending more time at the office may increase the finances available for pursuing interests, but, by definition, decreases the available time for the pursuit. Conversely, spending less time at the office decreases the funds available, but affords time. How, then, in this paradox, can I still maintain that anyone upon their deathbed would still wish to have spent more time in the office? Believe it or not, the answer has already been covered. It has been established with the idea of regretting spending time on mundane tasks. This should include mundane tasks completed in the office, and yet, for some reason, most do not attribute any substantial possibility for improvement to this area. If each task performed at the office by any such small business owner was categorized, it would necessarily fall into one of three subsections: value-adding, value-maintaining, and value-detracting. 

Value-adding activities increase business, increase efficiencies, decrease expenses, and help grow the business. Such tasks might be obvious, like spending time increasing sales by contacting new leads, or less so, like repairing a machine to improve its efficiency and lower its operating costs. Value-maintaining activities are those that are the necessary evils of the business world that all businesses have to do. They do not increase business, but are required to keep everything going. A great example is preparing taxes; it is required by the government, and thus is necessary for the business, but does not add anything to the business (to say little of what the government might take away). Lastly, value-detracting activities: the bane of a business. These tasks are the ones that eat up time without producing anything of value - or at least, of requirement - but tend to feel accomplishing to complete. Each industry and business will pick a different poison, so to speak, within their daily activities, that fall into this category. For some it is spending downtime perusing social media feeds, YouTube, or online shopping. For others, it is answering emails that feel important, as they sit unread in the inbox, their notification demanding attention, but emails that are ultimately not important.

It would be contrary to the very principles of BMI's Wellth to suggest an imbalance in any work-life time management, and yet, I still posit most are on their deathbed wishing they spent more time in the office. It is because of the last activity mentioned, the value-detracting tasks, that this is so. If the orator of regrets had focused more on value-adding activities in the undoubtedly long hours she spent at the office, the financial component of the regrets would be addressed. Even more than that, building a business, a difficult endeavor no matter the entrepreneur, will never have a shortage of problems and demands upon its proprietor. By focusing on the value-adding tasks and making an express effort, day in and day out, to avoid the value-detracting activities, the business will transform from something that runs you, to you running it. The laments of the orator are that she did not spend more quality time in the office, building her business, scaling it to new heights, and letting her business work for her to grant freedom of financial and time burdens, and instead, performed tasks that felt urgent, felt important, felt required, but blindly led to inefficient and ineffective uses of time. Reflect on each task, each action, and each decision made in the office, in the context of the value it adds, or detracts, from the business' overall health. If, after serious introspection and critical analysis, you find most of your time is spent maintaining the status quo, or even detracting from your business, many long years from now, you too will find yourself wishing you had spent more time in the office.