--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One cannot buy, rent or hire more time…" description: "\"One cannot buy, rent or hire more time. The supply of time is totally inelastic. No matter how high the demand, the supply will not go up. There is no ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/562/peter-drucker-393_demand_one-cannot-buy-rent-or-hire-more-time-th_180117.jpg" --- # One cannot buy, rent or hire more time. The supply of time… ![“One cannot buy, rent or hire more time. The supply of time is totally inelastic. No matter how high the demand, the supply will not go up. There is no price for it. Time is totally perishable and cannot be stored. Yesterday's time is gone forever, and will never come back. Time is always in short…” quote by Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/562/peter-drucker-393_demand_one-cannot-buy-rent-or-hire-more-time-th_180117.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/562/peter-drucker-393_demand_one-cannot-buy-rent-or-hire-more-time-th_180117.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/562/peter-drucker-393_demand_one-cannot-buy-rent-or-hire-more-time-th_180117.jpg) > “One cannot buy, rent or hire more time. The supply of time is totally inelastic. No matter how high the demand, the supply will not go up. There is no price for it. Time is totally perishable and cannot be stored. Yesterday's time is gone forever, and will never come back. Time is always in short supply. There is no substitute for time. Everything requires time. All work takes place in, and uses up time. Yet most people take for granted this unique, irreplaceable and necessary resource.” [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Time is an immutable, non‑renewable resource that cannot be bought, stored, or increased, yet everyone assumes its availability. **In simple terms:** Time cannot be bought or saved; it always runs out. Key Takeaway Prioritize and protect your time. Themes time management scarcity productivity impermanence resource allocation Mood reflective urgent thoughtful Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - personal planning - project deadlines - life balance - career development Key Concepts elasticity perishability opportunity cost human limitation Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide what deserves your limited time? - What activities could you eliminate to free up more time? A Different Perspective Time cannot be created or replenished, so efficiency alone cannot overcome its limits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forever/) [Gone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gone/) [Gone forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gone-forever/) [Granted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/granted/) [Irreplaceable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irreplaceable/) [Management](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/management/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [More time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/more-time/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Resources](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resources/) [Substitutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/substitutes/) [Supply Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supply-time-1928877/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time management](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-management/) [Time Requires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-requires-1928878/) [Time Short](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-short/) [Time Supply](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-supply-1928876/) [Unique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unique/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) [Uses Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uses-time-1905532/) [Yesterday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yesterday/) ## Related quotes > [Everything requires time. It is the only truly universal condition. All work takes place in time and uses up time. Yet most people take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/everything-requires-time-it-is-the-only-truly-universal-condition-all/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [Time is the inexplicable raw material of everything. With it, all is possible, without it nothing. The supply of time is truly a daily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/time-is-the-inexplicable-raw-material-of-everything-with-it-all-is/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [A good relationship takes time it requires work. Get to know someone enough before you open your mind, body and soul to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-good-relationship-takes-time-it-requires-work-get-to-know-someone/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Women complain about not having enough 'me time.' All it requires is a little planning. Once you plan, organise, and prioritise your life, things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/namrata-shirodkar/women-complain-about-not-having-enough-me-time-all-it-requires-is-a/) [Namrata Shirodkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/namrata-shirodkar/) > [“the chief beauty about the constant supply of time is that you cannot waste it in advance. The next year, the next day, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/the-chief-beauty-about-the-constant-supply-of-time-is-that-you-cannot/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [Don't waste your time, it is too short, Valuable and irreplaceable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-murdock/don-t-waste-your-time-it-is-too-short-valuable-and-irreplaceable/) [Mike Murdock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-murdock/) > [Life should not be measured by time. The only thing that counts is how one uses the time one has.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eloisa-james/life-should-not-be-measured-by-time-the-only-thing-that-counts-is-how/) [Eloisa James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eloisa-james/) > [One of the best uses of your time is to increase your competence in your key result areas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/one-of-the-best-uses-of-your-time-is-to-increase-your-competence-in/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [“One of the very worst uses of time is to do something very well that need not to be done at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/one-of-the-very-worst-uses-of-time-is-to-do-something-very-well-that/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [It's not how long a man lives, but how well he uses the time allotted him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/it-s-not-how-long-a-man-lives-but-how-well-he-uses-the-time-allotted/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Time is totally perishable and cannot be stored. Yesterday's time is gone forever, and will never come back. Time is always in short supply.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/time-is-totally-perishable-and-cannot-be-stored-yesterday-s-time-is/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [Nothing else, perhaps, distinguishes effective executives as much as their tender loving care of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/nothing-else-perhaps-distinguishes-effective-executives-as-much-as/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [Time is very short even for love. I don't know how people find time for hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/time-is-very-short-even-for-love-i-don-t-know-how-people-find-time/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It reminded him that time was short, but that beautiful endings could still be found at the end of cold, dreary days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-ford/it-reminded-him-that-time-was-short-but-that-beautiful-endings-could/) [Jamie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-ford/) > [“Philosophy is the theory of multiplicities, each of which is composed of actual and virtual elements. Purely actual objects do not exist. Every actual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilles-deleuze/philosophy-is-the-theory-of-multiplicities-each-of-which-is-composed/) [Gilles Deleuze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilles-deleuze/) ## More by Peter Drucker > [One reason for the tremendous increase in health-care costs in the U.S. is managerial neglect of the "hotel services" by the people who dominate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/one-reason-for-the-tremendous-increase-in-health-care-costs-in-the-u/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [No executive has ever suffered because his subordinates were strong and effective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/no-executive-has-ever-suffered-because-his-subordinates-were-strong/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [Results is all that separates one company from another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/results-is-all-that-separates-one-company-from-another/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [“There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all. Peter Drucker”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/there-is-nothing-so-useless-as-doing-efficiently-that-which-should/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [Our society has become an employee society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/our-society-has-become-an-employee-society/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [Replace your pursuit of success with the pursuit of contribution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/replace-your-pursuit-of-success-with-the-pursuit-of-contribution/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [Management means, in the last analysis, the substitution of thought for brawn and muscle, of knowledge for folkways and superstition, and of cooperation for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/management-means-in-the-last-analysis-the-substitution-of-thought-for/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [Don't try to innovate for the future. Innovate for the present!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/don-t-try-to-innovate-for-the-future-innovate-for-the-present/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [The critical question is not "How can I achieve?" but "What can I contribute?"](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/the-critical-question-is-not-how-can-i-achieve-but-what-can-i/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [We can say with certainty - or 90% probability - that the new industries that are about to be born will have nothing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/we-can-say-with-certainty-or-90-probability-that-the-new-industries/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [When it rains manna from heaven, some people put up an umbrella. Others reach for a big spoon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/when-it-rains-manna-from-heaven-some-people-put-up-an-umbrella-others/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [The enterprise can fulfill its human and social functions only if it prospers as a business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/the-enterprise-can-fulfill-its-human-and-social-functions-only-if-it/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [The computer actually may have aggravated management's degenerative tendency to focus inward on costs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/the-computer-actually-may-have-aggravated-management-s-degenerative/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [Nobody can predict the future; the idea is to have a firm grasp of the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/nobody-can-predict-the-future-the-idea-is-to-have-a-firm-grasp-of-the/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [An executive should be a realist; and no one is less realistic than the cynic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/an-executive-should-be-a-realist-and-no-one-is-less-realistic-than/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) [Explore all 603 Peter Drucker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) ## More Demand quotes > [Our times demand the declaration of the world's resources as the common heritage of all people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/our-times-demand-the-declaration-of-the-world-s-resources-as-the/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [Parents who are stressed or disturbed will have more difficulty in meeting their children's needs. Parents who have little support--from friends, relatives, neighbors, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-kamerman/parents-who-are-stressed-or-disturbed-will-have-more-difficulty-in/) [Sheila Kamerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-kamerman/) > [If a person does not listen to the demands of their own spiritual and heart life and insists on a certain program, you're going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/if-a-person-does-not-listen-to-the-demands-of-their-own-spiritual-and/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Empires fall, ids explode, great symphonies are written, and behind all of it is a single instinct that demands satisfaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/empires-fall-ids-explode-great-symphonies-are-written-and-behind-all/) [Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/) > [My dogs can't do anything--and what a relief. I don't make any demands of them, and I don't try to shape them or their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-chua/my-dogs-can-t-do-anything-and-what-a-relief-i-don-t-make-any-demands/) [Amy Chua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-chua/) > [The trouble is. . .that everybody sneers at restrictions and demands freedom, till something annoying happens; then they demand angrily what has become of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/the-trouble-is-that-everybody-sneers-at-restrictions-and-demands/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [You be greater than your feelings. I don't demand this of you - life does. Otherwise you'll be washed away by feelings. You'll be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/you-be-greater-than-your-feelings-i-don-t-demand-this-of-you-life/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [Christianity does not oppose debauchery and uncontrollable passions and the like as much as it opposes... flat mediocrity, this nauseating atmosphere, this homey, civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christianity-does-not-oppose-debauchery-and-uncontrollable-passions/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [It is an interesting law of romance that a truly strong woman will choose a strong man who disagrees with her over a weak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-is-an-interesting-law-of-romance-that-a-truly-strong-woman-will/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [If we get better our customers will demand we get bigger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-truett-cathy/if-we-get-better-our-customers-will-demand-we-get-bigger/) [S. Truett Cathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-truett-cathy/) > [If our faith in God is not the veriest sham, it demands, and will produce, the abandonment sometimes, the subordination always, of external helps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/if-our-faith-in-god-is-not-the-veriest-sham-it-demands-and-will/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) > [Money should be ones demand and command one should not become slave of money..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/money-should-be-ones-demand-and-command-one-should-not-become-slave/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [There was no mistake in us making abortion legal and available on demand. That was what we call progress. Just like it was no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/there-was-no-mistake-in-us-making-abortion-legal-and-available-on/) [Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/) > [Most enjoyable activities are not natural; they demand an effort that initially one is reluctant to make. But once the interaction starts to provide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/most-enjoyable-activities-are-not-natural-they-demand-an-effort-that/) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/) > [Azerbaijan unleashed the war, and was defeated in that war; Azerbaijan asked for truce (including from the Commander of Karabakh's forces) and later started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serzh-sargsyan/azerbaijan-unleashed-the-war-and-was-defeated-in-that-war-azerbaijan/) [Serzh Sargsyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serzh-sargsyan/) [Browse all 3,809 Demand quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One cannot buy, rent or hire more time. The supply of time is totally inelastic. No matter how high the demand, the supply will not go up. There is no price for it. Time is totally perishable and cannot be stored. Yesterday's time is gone forever, and will never come back. Time is always in short supply. There is no substitute for time. Everything requires time. All work takes place in, and uses up time. Yet most people take for granted this unique, irreplaceable and necessary resource.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Peter Drucker" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/one-cannot-buy-rent-or-hire-more-time-the-supply-of-time-is-totally/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Demand" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/one-cannot-buy-rent-or-hire-more-time-the-supply-of-time-is-totally/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/562/peter-drucker-393_demand_one-cannot-buy-rent-or-hire-more-time-th_180117.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/562/peter-drucker-393_demand_one-cannot-buy-rent-or-hire-more-time-th_180117.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/562/peter-drucker-393_demand_one-cannot-buy-rent-or-hire-more-time-th_180117.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One cannot buy, rent or hire more time. The supply of time is totally inelastic. No matter how high the…” — Peter Drucker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Peter Drucker", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "One cannot buy, rent or hire...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/one-cannot-buy-rent-or-hire-more-time-the-supply-of-time-is-totally/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/one-cannot-buy-rent-or-hire-more-time-the-supply-of-time-is-totally/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```