---
title: What's More Important Than Time
description: "Learn how to break the \"when-then\" trap, balance career with health and relationships, and shift from high achievement to high performance."
image: https://jensnielsen.us/hubfs/Wheel%20of%20life.png
---

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 November 10, 2026

# What's More Important Than Time

[By Jens Nielsen](https://jensnielsen.us/blog/author/by-jens-nielsen)

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Ever since I moved to the US 30 years ago, I have been fascinated by how different American culture is from Danish culture when it comes to creating a healthy work/leisure balance. I don't call it work/life balance, because work is life and life is work.

However, coming from a country where 5-6 weeks of vacation and a 37-hour work week is the norm, I was shocked when my first job gave me two weeks off and the expectation was a 40- to 50-hour work week.

Yet, if you ask people what is most important, time or money, most people will say time, but their behavior reveals something different.

What I have observed time and time again is that many people sacrifice their time, relationships and health to work more hours to make more money. When they finally realize their path is unsustainable, often with the help of a coach, it takes a lot of effort to course-correct.

So why does this happen and what can we do about it?

The biggest problem I observe is "when-then" thinking. People have this idea that "when" they achieve something, "then" they will be happy. This elusive thing they are pursuing is likely money, status or power.

The problem is: you can never have enough of what you don't need in the first place. In other words, we keep accumulating wealth, status or power long past what's needed to live a good life.

I was also trapped in this idea. I wanted to leave my W-2 job, because I thought I would be happy once I left.

Then I thought that once I had a certain number of investment properties or income, I would be happy. My happiness didn't change when I reached those goals, because I just got more of what I didn't need in the first place.

![Wheel of life](https://jensnielsen.us/hs-fs/hubfs/Wheel%20of%20life.png?width=462&height=349&name=Wheel%20of%20life.png)

The best way to detach from this cycle is to recalibrate what is important to us.

When I work with people, I often do the Wheel of Life exercise. It's an image of what is going on in different areas of our lives and a way to see how balanced or imbalanced our lives are. High achievers usually score high on the career and financial side of the wheel but might have low scores when it comes to relationships, health and community.

With that visual exercise in mind, we go to work on moving from high achievement to high performance. The former is someone who achieves goals in the world; the latter is someone who feels in balance. To get there, we need to put energy into the areas of life that have been neglected. After a few months, when their lives begin to turn around, I usually see a much higher level of happiness and satisfaction.

What people realize is that their focus was on the wrong thing. When they have time for relationships, time for health and time to grow, their lives can once again move toward fulfillment.

If you're interested in the Wheel of Life exercise, drop me a note and I'll email you the worksheet.

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