If You Realize You’re Worth $1000 Per Hour, What Would You Do?
We have always been told that time is gold. There are multiple views on time management and energy management. However, why is it that time is still the strangest matter when it comes to productivity and success?
Time management actually differs for everyone. There are people who wake up very early, while there are productive creatives who stay up late at night. Either way, it all comes down to the value of the output. Whichever approach is working for you, follow it. Still, there is no harm in exploring new options to improve and increase your productivity.
One of the best ways to visualize your time is to become more specific about its value. When we say, “time is gold,” we will most probably treat it in the metaphorical sense. However, if we actually put a value on your time, it becomes a lot more realistic and a lot more manageable.
Of course there are people out there whose hourly value is $1000. But, if you are not reaching this value yet, it is the best “price” option. And, just in case this is already your hourly “price point,” try visualizing a bigger value like $50,000 per hour. The key here is giving yourself a higher, real-world value.
Now that you know how much your time is worth, begin to review what you have been spending over the past week. Did I just spend $5000 on binge-watching “House of Cards?” Did I spend $2000 on Facebook browsing? So that means there is $12,000 allotted to my library research every week.
When you view your time in a statistical manner, it will be easier to prioritize things.
If I’m working 8 hours everyday, that means I should be creating $8,000 worth of value.
Again, it does not necessarily mean that this is your present hourly value (though you could aim for it to be), but it represents the value of what you are putting out there.
Prioritize Your Way Through Your $1,000 Value
Let’s not miss the rhetoric here and see how this can be applied in business settings.
Meetings are one of the most time-consuming activities in any workforce. That is the reason why Do.com founder Jason Shah decided to create a software that can help everyone stay on track with meetings.
Now, if you are going to spend an hour to collaborate on a project for one hour (worth $1,000), what is the main goal for this meeting? Is it really necessary to conduct a meeting? Is there a way to collaborate about this issue via email or chat? What will be my ROI if I invest $1,000 in this meeting? Will this solve our current UX issue? Will the meeting bring about new ways to improve our overall team ethos? What do I really want to achieve?
When you catch yourself getting overwhelmed with all of the 100 tasks in your to-do list, remember what the value of your time is. Understanding and visualizing the real-life value of your time put things in perspective. This helps you laser focus on the things that you really need to do compared to the add-on tasks that you can live without.
So, how about you? How much did you set for your hourly value and what changed when you started viewing your time this way?
