Make the most of your time

If time is the most precious thing of all, wasting time is the greatest waste, said Benjamin Franklin. In his book on Scrum, Jeff Sutherland asks: “We know our time is limited. Isn’t wasting it therefore the greatest crime?” True words. Time is one of the few things we cannot accumulate and save. Once it has passed, it is gone for good.

That makes time one of our most valuable resources. I sincerely try to use it responsibly and sustainably in every part of my #lifeworktrailbalance.

The boundaries between life, work and trail running sometimes blur. Time with my family and children is hugely important to me. The twins turn one in November. Since they arrived, perhaps not everything, but a great deal, revolves around them, as it should.

#lifeworktrailbalance: Saturday in the mountains from 4 to 8 a.m., then straight to Vienna for a family outing.

For their sake, I had not planned major sporting ambitions in 2018. I had achieved my goal of finishing the UTMB in under 24 hours and felt satisfied. But on 13 January, the elite registration deadline, I looked at the UTMB start list and saw that I was ranked 23rd. Relatively few elite runners had entered. My mind started racing. In 2017, I had been ranked 81st and finished 26th, almost a fourfold improvement in placing. I concluded that a top-15 or even top-10 result might be possible.

But given our time commitments, I wanted to discuss it with my wife before deciding. “Darling, family is still the first pillar. How would you feel about me running the UTMB again?” I asked, after explaining the situation. She agreed, and I registered.

Oops… I did it again.

In the following days, the organisers admitted around 30 additional elite runners outside the regular registration period. I thought my ambitious goals were now out of reach and was annoyed at the UTMB’s approach. Yet I wasted no time in September. I ran faster than in 2017 and finished ninth: a sensational result for me and the Austrian trail running community.

Wasting time in sport horrifies me. In business, it is even worse. One principle in my IT company is that my employees and I maintain an open dialogue, develop ideas and try to solve problems as quickly as possible. I strongly reject simply doing the bare minimum required. Each of us should have fulfilling work in which we can contribute and grow. This means frequent changes and the challenges that come with them. Communication in particular is often a struggle. But this agile approach will equip us for an increasingly fast-moving future.

We cannot afford to waste our time, because it is our customers’ time too. Whenever we work, our constant goal is to create value for our clients and give them the best possible solution. That is our mission.