Growth Instigators Hotline
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Growth Instigators Hotline
#419 Watches. Time Coins.
A tiny object on your wrist can change how you lead your day. We take a hard look at the stories we tell about time—especially the easy excuse, “I ran out of it”—and swap them for a sharper lens: you didn’t run out; you spent it. Using a simple $24 metaphor, we turn minutes into money and examine how every yes and no either funds your best work or subsidizes distractions you don’t even want.
Together, we break down the difference between busyness and investment, and we map out how to protect your limited attention with clean boundaries. You’ll hear a practical way to audit your day—“What did I buy?”—and a fast rule for decisions: if it’s not worth your coins, it doesn’t get your yes. We also share how a listener’s note pushed this idea deeper, why saying “it wasn’t a priority” can feel uncomfortable yet freeing, and how to use your watch as a micro-habit cue to check alignment before the next block on your calendar.
Expect clear steps you can apply today: pre-allocate your top two priorities, set a no list that guards them, and review each evening to adjust without guilt. We keep it short, direct, and useful so you can return to the work and people that matter most. If you’ve been craving a more intentional rhythm—better focus, fewer empty obligations, and a calmer mind—this framework will help you invest your time like it deserves compounding returns.
If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs a better “no,” and leave a quick review to help more people build a day that matches their priorities.
Welcome to the Growth Instigators Hotline. I'm Aaron Havens, your host and growth coach. This is message 419. This week we are talking about watches, an everyday normal object that we can assign deeper meaning to, something that can grab our attention and represents something bigger. Welcome to part four of five as we dive into lessons we can glean from watches. Dan from Tennessee left such a good message yesterday. It sounds hard at first. Just roll with it though, and the depth will set in. Something that's ignored, something to dominate. Time is not something you run out of. So, if that's true, gone are the excuses of oh no, I didn't get to that. I ran out of time. Nope. Try again. How about this? It just wasn't a priority. That sounds more like it. We all have the same amount of coins of time to spend today. A quarter here, a dollar there. At the end of the day, we all, every one of us, only had$24 of time to spend today. And tomorrow, hopefully. Did you spend it well? Do you have the wisdom to and foresight to invest those coins and dollars in the best way possible? If so, good job. So don't be caught off guard if by the end of today you didn't have time for something. That something must not have been a priority, or else you would have spent limited time coins on it. Okay, this makes investing your time coins so much fun. Be selfish and protect those coins with all of your might. The things you say yes to have got to be worth it. And with this reminder and perspective, it makes saying no really, really easy. As you look at your watch today, may it remind you to spend those time coins well. That, my friends, is how a common everyday object can instigate growth. I'd like to hear some more of your observations. What growth lessons can you apply to watches? For those of you calling the Growth Instigators Hotline, I'd love to hear your thoughts after the beep. For those of you listening in on our podcast, visit growth instigators.com and send me your thoughts. Oh, and side note for those of you that have asked, yeah, I post these messages about 7 a.m. every morning. So those of you calling at 3 in the morning, it's not up yet. Okay, that's it for today. Let's never see watches the same.