Which clock is ticking?

And which one is strategic?

Which clock is ticking? Which one is strategic?

It's been a recurring theme for me to harp here on the value and importance of time. I’ve previously written about the “speed” of time, and the fact that time fixes all strategic problems. But here I go again.

There are always many clocks ticking. You must mind them all. Or try to. At least the ones that matter most.

I noticed this when I broke down some expenses recently on a spreadsheet. I looked at how we spent our money, and it was simple to spot a pattern based on time.

We have monthly fixed costs, like a specific amount we pay for an HOA and internet service. We have monthly variable costs, those that come every month but are ever-changing, like food or electricity.

We have annual fixed costs, like certain bills that come up but are relatively stable, like our property taxes or summer camps for kids. And then we have the annual variable types. This category is the one-off variety that can swing wildly from year to year. For example, in one previous year we affixed solar panels to the roof, and this year my wife has planned a trip with a friend to Everest Basecamp.

Altogether, that’s quite literally the most mundane example of multiple clocks smashing against a key life priority. If you’re zeroing in on daily expenses but have no regard for the big annual variable bucket, you might rightly be called “penny-wise and pound foolish.” The trick is to pay attention to all impactful levels of time: the seconds-hand, the minutes-hand, the hours-hand, as well as the longer-range calendar.

President Zelensky in Ukraine must worry about many clocks at once. He's thinking about Russia's clock, his Western allies' clock, this near-neighbor-supporter's clock (i.e., Poland), the American clock, and, most importantly—every Ukrainian’s clock.

I use the term "clock" instead of “calendar” in a wartime example due to the stakes. The reality is timeframes here are actually in months, not minutes, but the elevated stakes mean that Zelensky feels pressure in such a way as to shrink the way time "feels" to him. Everything seems urgent. Months can feel like minutes.

These many countdowns can be your friend or your adversary.

DON'T MAKE TIME YOUR ADVERSARY, BECAUSE YOU WILL LOSE.

That’s the shorthand many apply to America’s experience in Afghanistan. The phrase critics liked to apply was that America (and its allies) “had the watches, but the Taliban has the time,” insinuating that the locals merely had to outlast the foreigners (which is basically what happened). The American commander there, Stanley McChrystal, once made a habit of asking soldiers how they would different they would conduct themselves if they knew they could not leave until the war was over. (At the time, American soldiers were doing rotations of one year or less, seen as detrimental against an adversary that was in it for the long haul.)

With respect for McChrystal, this was him (subtly) fighting against his war’s clock. In scenario’s like this, one must find a way to make time a tool for your own side. Perhaps in that case he might’ve used time to heighten stakes and force change faster, on the estimate that your side will suffer consequences otherwise.

It’s hard to say. Perhaps there was no good way. Perhaps there was no good way to ‘befriend the clock.’

But fighting the clock is a sure loser. Don’t do it.