Over the last few years, I have absolutely shifted my focus from one of time management to one of time investment. Prior to writing my fourth book it became very clear to me that we cannot, and should not, try to manage our time.
Some things – such as your health, your diet, your team and your thoughts – can be managed, to the extent that they can be planned, organised and controlled (in this context, time could also be managed if the concept of management ended there). But manage also denotes something that can be “directed” or “commanded”. Time cannot be “directed” or “commanded”.
This is where the term time management falls short: no one, no matter how smart, savvy, wealthy or stealthy you are, can change time or, in any other way, “direct” or “command” time to do what you want it to do. Time marches on regardless.
And so, it’s time to shift your mindset to one of time investment. This is an important mindset shift because it means that you are consciously elevating your time to a higher status: like your money, time is a limited and precious resource that must be invested consciously and wisely for the greatest possible return.
With this in mind, there are three simple steps you can take to work out whether you are investing your time well.
Hourly rate yourself
Your time is money. I’m not talking about the income you pay yourself from your business. I’m talking about the actual dollar value you generate for your business. This is what your time is worth.
If your business charges You out by the hour, this is your hourly rate. For example, if you are an accountant, and you charge your clients $350 per hour, then this is the value you need to put on your time for every task you perform.
If your business charges your clients per product or service, a quick way to calculate your personal hourly rate is to access the Harvard Meeting Calculator (select 1 person; 1 hour; and the approximate business revenue a year). So, for example, if the gross annual business revenue is $500,000 a year, your hourly rate is $350.
For the purposes of this exercise, ignore your business costs – you are just trying to value your time financially.
Identify high-value vs low-value tasks
There are two types of work tasks: high value and low value. A high-value task is a task at your skill level and which is either revenue generating or cost-reducing for the business. Typical high-value tasks include sales; customer engagement; marketing; process efficiencies. A low-value task is a task below your skill level or which is cost generating for the business. Typical low-value tasks include administration, social media surfing (instead of strategic marketing), lost time to interruptions.
Calculate what are your time investment habits are costing you
Assuming a personal hourly rate of $350, let’s calculate what a focus on typical low value rather than high-value tasks is costing you per annum:
- one hour/day (365 days p/a) surfing social media = $127,750 of your time a year
- 10 hours/wk lost to interruptions (48 workweeks p/a) = $168.000 of your time a year
- 15 hours/wk administration (48 workweeks p/a) = $252,000 of your time a year
Your time is money. From now on, for every task you perform, ask yourself this question: Is this really the best use of my time? What is this costing me financially? If it’s not the best use of your time, make a better choice.
Kate Christie, Founder and CEO, Time Stylers and author of “Me First: The Guilt-Free Guide to Prioritising You”
