Space I can recover. Time, never.
—Napoleon Bonaparte
Time is just as important as space in strategic thought, and knowing how to use time will make you a superior strategist, giving an added dimension to your attacks and defense. To do this you must stop thinking of time as an abstraction: in reality, beginning the minute you are born, time is all you have. It is your only true commodity. People can take away your possessions, but—short of murder—not even the most powerful aggressors can take time away from you unless you let them. Even in prison your time is your own, if you use it for your own purposes. To waste your time in battles not of your choosing is more than just a mistake, it is stupidity of the highest order.
Daily Law: Resist the urge to respond to trivial annoyances. Time lost can never be regained.
The 33 Strategies of War
, Strategy 11: Trade Space for Time—The Nonengagement Strategy