{"id":7170,"date":"2011-08-21T21:00:36","date_gmt":"2011-08-22T05:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=7170"},"modified":"2013-09-12T11:59:10","modified_gmt":"2013-09-12T19:59:10","slug":"your-time-is-priceless-do-you-treat-it-that-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/your-time-is-priceless-do-you-treat-it-that-way\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Time Is Priceless: Do You Treat it That Way?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Time is one of the few things you can\u2019t buy.<\/p>\n

Of course, you can purchase \u201ctime-saving\u201d gadgets and gismos. You can pay a maid to clean your house, or a personal assistant to answer your emails. But you\u2019ll never have more than twenty-four hours in a day.<\/p>\n

Time is priceless. It\u2019s also constant: you don\u2019t have to do<\/em> anything to make an hour go by. You\u2019ll have experienced time flying past (at a great party) or crawling (at 4pm on Friday) \u2013 but you know that, regardless of how it feels, the minutes tick by at the same objective speed.<\/p>\n

Once a day has gone past, you\u2019ll never get it back. <\/strong><\/p>\n

In many ways, time is the most precious thing that we have. Yet most of us treat our time as though it has hardly any value at all.<\/p>\n

How We De-Value Our Time<\/h2>\n

If a new friend asked you to give them $10, you\u2019d probably be very surprised at the request. You might feel angry or awkward, and you might well refuse. The fact that they even asked would affect your friendship, and would make you see them in a poorer light.<\/p>\n

But if that same person emailed and asked you for a favor that took half an hour of your time, you might well provide it. You certainly wouldn\u2019t think that their request was cheeky or out of the ordinary.<\/p>\n

Now, often, we do favors for friends because we like them and because we know that they\u2019ll repay us in the future. That\u2019s reasonable enough. But it\u2019s very easy to end up spending your time on all sorts of requests. Because you\u2019re being asked for time \u2013 which is hard to value \u2013 you don\u2019t consider what you\u2019re losing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

How Much Is An Hour of Your Time Worth?<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s hard to put an exact value on an hour of your time, though you could start with whatever your employer pays you (or whatever you charge clients, if you\u2019re self-employed). There\u2019s a strong relationship between your time \u2013 the hours that you work \u2013 and your bank balance \u2013 what you get paid.<\/p>\n

You could also consider what you\u2019d pay for an extra hour of free time. What would be a reasonable rate to pay a child-minder to take care of your kids, for instance, or someone to cover your chores for you?<\/p>\n

Time is, of course, worth more than just dollars. But putting a monetary value on your time can help you realize that it does indeed have a value.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reclaiming Your Time<\/h2>\n

So, how do you take back more of your precious time? First, recognize how valuable it is. Realize that you won\u2019t ever get back the day, week or year that\u2019s just gone past.<\/p>\n

You might:<\/p>\n