What’s the ROI on Your Time?

When you invest money, you’re not giving it away.

You’re just putting it somewhere else.

A $10,000 down payment on your home is not lost. It’s still yours, but it’s in the real estate market. The bricks are your bank. You will get the money back, although your return may be higher or lower than the initial investment.

Time and energy work on the same principle.

Whenever you give your time or energy, you aren’t really losing it. You’re transferring it to someone else. Later, that investment comes back to you. You might get a big return or that investment may go to zero.*

They say that the biggest financial risk you can take is hoarding your cash. I’d argue the biggest emotional and career-related risk is hoarding your time and energy. It is far better to give invest them now than to wake up in 30 years wondering why you are lonely and bitter and broken.

And besides, the returns offered by humans are much more unpredictable and exciting than you could imagine.

*Another parallel — the risk of “going to zero” is less if you diversify your time and energy among people too.