What is Your Time Worth?
You’re probably familiar with the old adage “time is money.” We don’t want to waste time doing things that aren’t going to benefit us, right? Well, as an entrepreneur, I see time as MORE than money. Time is our life: our experiences, our opportunities, our ways of living and expressing ourselves in addition to our businesses. From a more expansive perspective, ask yourself: what do you want to fill your life with?
Hours of tasks?
Late nights?
Early mornings?
Stress?
What about purpose, passion, joy, freedom and fulfillment?
The difference in these two experiences is not just the income we generate. The difference is the value we place on our time. Every task or activity we choose to do contributes to our overall experience of life. So, the question is, how are you choosing to spend your time?
Time Assets
Patrick McKenzie, a computer programmer and friend of James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, introduced the idea of time assets and time deficits. Every task you do falls into one of these two categories. A time asset is something that may require more time and energy from you now, but in the long run, it saves you a lot of time. Examples of this are automated email sequences, learning a new skill, developing processes, and prequalification forms/quizzes.
When you’re looking at your list of things to do, a true time asset may not show up as the quickest or the easiest. In fact, it may even be tempting to push it off in favor of a quick, easy win. But, when you think about the long-term benefits of being able to delegate time-consuming tasks to an automation, system, or employee with ease, you will get your time’s worth. Time assets like this then free you up to focus on what’s most important to you both professionally and personally.
Time Deficits
A time deficit is just the opposite of a time asset. It is a task or activity that will take up more of your time in the future. Time deficits are things that in the long run don’t provide a proper return on your investment. A time deficit may look like a board membership position, a volunteer activity, playing phone or email tag, casual social media engagement, a networking group, or tasks that aren’t a part of your business needle movers (for more on this see Getting the Right Things Done with the Pareto Principle).
When you are considering whether a task or activity falls into the time deficit category, think about your return on the investment. An activity should benefit you in one of three ways:
Time: Does this activity allow me to ultimately have more time for what’s most important?
Money: Does this activity bring in enough money to my business that makes doing it worthwhile?
Self Care: Does this activity fill me up emotionally or spiritually? Does this activity help me become a better version of myself?
If you have a tendency towards people pleasing, it can be easy to fill your schedule with all kinds of activities that do none of the above. Your desire to be liked has you stuffing envelopes at 2 a.m. for a cause that’s not your own. It has you as president of a club that only drains your energy.
Many times an activity may start out as an asset, but over time, it no longer serves you. Maybe you’ve outgrown a networking group or mastermind. Maybe your audience has shifted and a Facebook group is no longer the best way to reach them. It’s a good idea to periodically reevaluate where you are spending your time to see if there are activities you should let go of.
Pricing
Most people have a tendency to undervalue themselves and their work. After all, if it comes easy to you, it must be easy for others as well, right? Why charge a high price for something you can do quickly, easily, and is enjoyable?
Wait. I thought as entrepreneurs we wanted to work for ourselves so that it could be easy and enjoyable. That doesn’t mean that our time isn’t valuable. That doesn’t mean that we can’t make a living doing what we love.
So what is your time worth to you? What is 12 sessions with a client plus prep time worth from a time perspective? What value makes it worth the time away from other things that light you up? Is it worth the energy you put in? If you can, try to let go of--for just a moment--your thoughts around what others might think or how effortless your work is for you. What value makes your work the most desirable and fulfilling activity for you?
Turning Your Offerings Into Time Assets
Just as you periodically check in on your tasks to ensure your assets haven’t become deficits, you can do the same with your business offerings.
When you first started as a coach or consultant, one-on-one sessions were the best way to build your skills and serve others. Now that you have more experience, how can you turn your skills and offerings into more of a time asset?
One-on-one coaching sessions can become groups. Live talks and workshops can become evergreen programs and courses. As with most time assets, it would require more work up front to create new programs, record videos, etc. But, you will open up the possibility of both more time and income in the future.
So, ask yourself: what is your time worth to you?
