Editor’s Note: Grace Ueng, founder of Savvy Growth, is a leadership coach, well-being expert, and sought-after speaker. The author of Happiness@Work, she teaches audiences worldwide how to elevate engagement and performance.
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Why I went all-in on learning from Scot Wingo
I typically go all in when I commit to something. So when I joined the Tweener Fund, I chose the founding member tier of Triangle Tweener Times to get inside Scot Wingo’s brain and learn as much as I could.
His start-of-the-year newsletter stood out to me. It was about productivity and time optimization, and he included powerful insights, including the concept of ‘Time Billionaire' as well as Randy Pausch’s famed Last Lecture.
These ideas made me rethink how we use our time, how we value it, and what it means to truly own it.
Listen to Google Lab’s take on Grace’s Column
What is a time billionaire?
Imagine a room full of people being asked whether they would rather be themselves or trade places with Warren Buffett. Almost everyone respects Buffett — he's one of the greatest investors of all time.
But no one chooses to switch places.
Why? Because Warren Buffett is 90 years old. And time is more valuable than money.
A million seconds is 11 days. A billion seconds is 31 years.
A 20-year-old has approximately 2 billion seconds left to live.
A 50-year-old has about 1 billion seconds left.
Everyone starts out as a time billionaire. And as we get older, we still can be — it all comes down to how we view and use our time.
Think of how you optimize your financial portfolio — balancing risk, prioritizing high-value assets and ensuring long-term growth. Now, apply that same strategy to your time portfolio. Are you investing your time in the highest-value activities? Are you structuring your days with purpose? If you approached time the way you do your finances, how would you operate differently?
Time starved vs. Time billionaire
I was reminded of this concept in a recent conversation I had with a former colleague who was always at the top of our class when we started in consulting. Now, he’s an executive at a major financial services firm. At 60, he still feels like he’s in the same cycle as before — stressed, overcommitted and always time-starved. Despite his professional success, he feels like he’s constantly chasing, never fully owning his time. He and his wife bought a house before the rest of us did (and a high-end home at that). Over three decades later, he told me that maybe it was time to have a simpler life.
Contrast that with someone who is a time billionaire — not because they have an excess of free time, but because they are intentional about how they spend their time.
How I found 8 extra hours at the airport
Last Thursday, I showed up at RDU at 6:15 AM for my 8 AM flight, only to find out that I wouldn’t be taking off until closer to 4 PM. My key concern was making it to the visitation that evening — the memorial service wasn’t until the next morning, but I really wanted to be there that night.
I had a choice: I could spend the day frustrated, refreshing my airline app, or I could embrace this found time and optimize it for something valuable.
So, I decided to use the unexpected time. I treated myself to Starbucks, found a quiet space after switching terminals, and cranked through some important work I hadn’t yet found time to attack. I got into a deep flow state, something that rarely happens amid day-to-day distractions.
And the best part? I made it in time for the last two minutes of visitation. Had I let frustration take over, the entire day would have felt wasted. Instead, it became one of the most productive blocks of time I’ve had in weeks.
What I learned from Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture
I first learned of The Last Lecture when I heard Scot Wingo’s touching eulogy for Manoj George three years ago. He recommended to Manoj this legendary talk given by professor Randy Pausch when he was also facing terminal cancer. Manoj had reached out to me when he was first diagnosed, at a time when I was in a dark place myself. We lost him just as I was getting better. When Scot referenced The Last Lecture again in Tweener Times, I rewatched the lecture and also purchased Pausch’s book of the same title to learn more.
My key takeaways:
- Time is all you have — and you may find one day that you have less than you think. We assume there will always be more time, but every second is precious.
- The best way to get something done is to start. Overthinking leads to inaction. Just begin. After I finished writing this column, I took a break to read The New York Times and found “When this Stanford Professor got cancer, he decided to teach a class about It,” which takes The Last Lecture to the next chapter. One of Dr. Lin's students whose mother had cancer said her spirit echoed that of Dr. Lin. She wrote about the puzzles scattered throughout the waiting areas in the hospital where she received care. Difficult puzzles with hundreds of pieces that “no one person could possibly finish no matter how long the wait.” She said that perhaps that was the point, not to finish, but to try.
- Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted. Setbacks aren’t failures — they’re life’s way of teaching us.
- You can’t control some of the cards you’re dealt, just how you play the hand. Life isn’t fair, but how we respond defines us.
- Find the best in everybody — no matter how long you have to wait for them to show it. People often rise to the expectations you set for them.
- Apologize properly: ‘I’m sorry. It was my fault. How do I make it right?’ A true apology isn’t just words — it’s action.
- It’s not about how to achieve your dreams — it’s about how to lead your life. Live with integrity, and the rest will follow.
- Have fun all the time. Enthusiasm is contagious — why not make life joyful?
Why you should take more showers
Last week, I wrote about how we’re often in a losing battle with time (On Time: 6 Strategies to Take Back Your Time). The most important things shouldn’t need to be written down — you remember what truly matters.
That’s why I try not to capture every fleeting idea that pops into my head. The best ones naturally rise to the top.
And here’s where an unconventional but effective time optimization tip comes in: take more showers.
So much great thinking happens outside the office — when you’re in nature, exercising, or simply stepping away from your desk. Some of my best ideas have come to me in the shower. It’s a space where you’re uninterrupted, relaxed and free to think creatively.
The key to better time optimization isn’t just tracking minutes — it’s making sure you’re doing things that have impact. And sometimes, the best way to do that is to step away, reset and let your mind wander. The best ideas don’t get generated sitting at your desk.
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About Grace Ueng, Founder of Savvy Growth
Grace is founder of Savvy Growth, management consultancy and coaching firm focused on helping impactful leaders and their companies solve the world’s greatest challenges and achieve extraordinary results.
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