What Is The Value of Your Time?

I led a time-management workshop awhile back and we spent a good chunk of the workshop discussing the value of time… specifically how much value we should give our own time.

How much is your time really worth?

What are you willing to give up to get more time?

Great questions, huh?

We’ve all heard the saying, “time is money” and to a certain degree, I believe that saying is true. However, I feel there are plenty of situations when time is MUCH more valuable than money. Don’t you think?

The women at my workshop agreed and decided to make a list of some of the situations where time would easily be more valuable than money.

Here are ten of my favorites from their list:

1. Time with a sick, elderly, or dying loved one.

2. Time with children before bed.

3. Time with, and ONLY with, your spouse or significant other.

4. Time with family and friends during holidays and special events.

5. Time on weekends to “unplug and recharge” — no working allowed!

6. Time doing something you REALLY love — just because.

7. Time spent volunteering for a cause or organization you support — not because you were guilted into saying “yes”.

8. Time with each individual child, grandchild, etc. where you can really tune into their needs.

9. Time spent taking the back roads and enjoying the scenery.

10. Time spent in prayer or personal devotion — even though you have 537 other things to do.

I found myself nodding along as they rattled off many more situations where time seems to be more valuable than money.

So… what is the value of YOUR Time?

As a very frugal person by nature, I have also always been a huge stickler for good time management. I suppose some part of me feels that spending my time in “frivolous” ways is just as wasteful as throwing money away.

I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t ever throw a $20 bill in the trash… right?

So why do we often joke about “wasting time” or having “lazy days”.

Yes I get it, we all need to relax and kick back — of course, there is no way we should (or even could) use every minute of every day to push productivity.

However, I DO think we can and should be mindful of how we use our time each day.

If we associate more value to our time, we will naturally choose to use it more wisely — in ways that benefit us, our families, our friends, our employers, our communities, etc.

For example, if you have a job outside the home, calculate your hourly wages and then consider that to be the fictitious “value of your time”.

If you don’t have a job outside the home, set the bar high and value your time at $100 or more per hour! Then, consider that hourly rate the next time you contemplate “wasting” time on the internet, on Netflix, or hitting the snooze button again.

One More Thought About the Value Of Time…

As I think about the value of my own time and money… as well as the difference between time spent and money spent, two huge distinctions come to mind.

If I spend money and regret it, I can often return the purchased item and get my money back
If I want/need more money, I can find a side job to make a little extra.

But this is not the case with time!

If I spend time in frivolous or wasteful ways, there is no way of getting that time back.
If I feel I want or need more time, there is no way to magically add more hours to the day (except on daylight savings!)

I suppose these are two huge reasons I put so much value on time management and increasing my productivity.

I feel that if I can do more in less time, I will end up with more hours left in the day to spend how I please, and hopefully less regret over “wasted time”.

What about you?

To be sure, I do not expect anyone to obsess with allocating every minute of every day to something useful, productive, meaningful, etc.

However, I do think we could all benefit from being more mindful of how we spend our minutes and hours each day… putting a little more value on our time (because it IS so valuable!)