What Is Your Time And Energy Worth?
Do you know your value and worth in this World? Far too many people give themselves away to people and circumstances without considering their actual value and worth to society.
If you give all your time and energy to everyone out there – what have you got for yourself?
You will naturally value your time and energy when you have high self-worth and confidence.
Time and health are two precious assets that we don’t recognize and appreciate until they have been depleted.
Denis Waitley
Definition of Value and Worth
- The Definition of Value: the worth of something in terms of the number of other things for which it can be exchanged or in terms of some medium of exchange.
- The Definition of worth is the value equivalent to that of someone or something under consideration, the level at which someone or something deserves to be valued or rated.
What is your time and energy worth? The sands in the hourglass are dropping away from the moment you are born, never to return. Every second of every day will be experienced and gone before you know it.
When we are infants and toddlers, the concept of time isn’t even in our awareness yet.
We do what we do when we do it. Once we get into school, time becomes more evident in our daily lives. I can’t be late for school, get to the next class before the bell rings, etc. Most of us didn’t have a choice of whether or not we could go to school, and we accepted it.
Once you graduated high school, it was either off to college or getting a job. Two more activities that eat a significant chunk of your time. Still, at this time, you didn’t realize that you had a choice in how you spend your time.
As the World is changing on a massive scale, many of you have been” waking up” and saying:
“Hey, I want to live life on my own terms and not how someone outside of me dictates it to be.”
You always have a choice regarding how you spend your time. Many wealthy entrepreneurs knew they wanted freedom of choice regarding how they spend their time.
Granted, entrepreneurs work just as hard and long as employees, yet they are in control (mostly) of how and when they spend their time. Time is a concept that we all experience every day.
We have 24 hours a day, even though it feels much less than that.
80% of people are in jobs they do not like, or even worse, they love their jobs, but all the office politics and backstabbing make it almost unbearable to do your work. I experienced this myself during my 13-year stint in Corporate America.
People are now wanting more freedom and flexibility in their jobs. FYI: you don’t need a job to survive; you need income, and you can get that any way you like as long as it’s legal.
For example, some people earn a living as professional poker players, others make YouTube videos, some inherit a large sum of money, and some win the lottery and have enough money to not need a job.
That is why I prefer to work for myself, independently, or be the boss. I’m an Aries Sun Sign; what can I say?
Value & Worth = Your Time & Energy
During my younger days, time didn’t matter to me at all. From my perspective, there was an abundance of it, so I didn’t think about it much. But as I got older and time seemed to be speeding up, I became more conscious of how I spent it.
In our world, people create all kinds of fears about not having enough food, water, oil, jobs, and so on, yet they never focus on something that is in short supply for them: their time! You can’t place a high enough value on your time, right?
Most jobs are set up as a”trade your time and energy for money” experience. The problem is that most jobs only pay you a pittance of what your time is worth. Plus, jobs take up not just your time but your energy, too.
Think about it.
You are already giving away your time, which has value in and of itself, plus you have to exert physical and mental energy to do the work they are paying you for.
The problem has always been the energy exchange between trading my time and energy for small amounts of money.
From my point of view, the balance was way off and not in my favor.
How do you figure out what your time is worth?
Determining your time’s worth involves assessing several factors, including your skills, expertise, experience, market demand, and personal goals.
- Evaluate Your Skills and Expertise: Consider your education, training, and experience in your field. The more specialized or in-demand your skills are, the higher your hourly rate will likely be.
- Research Market Rates: Look into what others in your industry with similar skills and experience charge for their time. This can give you a benchmark to compare your own rates.
- Consider Your Expenses and Financial Goals: Calculate your monthly expenses, including bills, rent, food, and savings goals. Determine how much income you need to cover these expenses and achieve your financial objectives.
- Assess Demand for Your Services: Evaluate the market demand for your services. If there’s high demand and low supply for what you offer, you may be able to charge a higher rate.
- Factor in Overhead Costs: Consider any overhead costs associated with your work, such as equipment, software, or marketing expenses. Include these costs when calculating your hourly rate.
- Value Your Time: Consider your work’s value to clients or employers. If your expertise saves them time or generates significant revenue, you may be able to charge a premium for your services.
- Test and Adjust: Start with a rate you feel comfortable with and gradually adjust based on client feedback, market trends, and changes in your expenses or financial goals.
- Consider Non-Monetary Benefits: Sometimes, taking on projects with lower monetary compensation can still be worthwhile if they provide other benefits such as networking opportunities, skill development, or portfolio building.
- Be Flexible: While it’s essential to have a standard rate, be open to negotiating with clients based on the specifics of each project, your relationship with the client, and the value you can provide.
- Track Your Time and Income: Keep detailed records of your time on projects and the income you generate. This will help you evaluate the effectiveness of your pricing strategy and make adjustments as needed.
Become Aware Of What’s Worth Your Energy
Here are some steps to help you identify what’s worth your energy:
- Define Your Goals and Values: Reflect on what matters most to you. Consider your long-term goals, personal values, and what brings you fulfillment and satisfaction.
- Prioritize Your Tasks: List your professional and personal tasks and responsibilities. Then, categorize them based on their importance and urgency. Focus your energy on tasks that align with your goals and values and have the greatest impact.
- Identify Energy Drains: Pay attention to activities or situations that drain your energy without providing much benefit. This could include tasks that you dislike or don’t align with your goals and negative relationships or environments.
- Set Boundaries: Learn to say no to activities or commitments that don’t align with your priorities, or that would stretch you too thin. Establishing boundaries is essential for preserving energy and focusing on what truly matters.
- Practice Self-Care: Take care of your physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Make time for activities that recharge you, such as exercise, hobbies, spending time with loved ones, or practicing mindfulness and relaxation techniques.
- Delegate and Outsource: Identify tasks that can be delegated to others or outsourced, freeing up your time and energy for activities that require your unique skills and expertise.
- Evaluate Return on Investment: Consider different activities and commitments’ return on investment (ROI). Ask yourself whether your time and energy in a particular task or project yield meaningful results or contribute to your overall goals.
- Stay Flexible and Adapt: Be willing to reassess your priorities and adjust your focus as circumstances change. What’s worth your energy today may not be the same tomorrow, so stay flexible and open to new opportunities and challenges.
- Learn to Let Go: Sometimes, holding onto specific tasks or commitments out of habit or obligation can drain your energy unnecessarily. Practice letting go of things that no longer serve you or align with your goals, and be willing to make changes when necessary.
- Regularly Review and Reflect: Set aside time periodically to review your priorities, goals, and energy allocation. Consider what’s working well and what could be improved, and adjust accordingly.
Do You Respect Other People’s Time?
I respect other people’s time as much as I recognize my own. I don’t hold people up by making idle chit-chat with them (not too often), nor do I ask them to do something for me without doing something in return now or in the future.
As much as I love to help people and give away stuff for free, I realized this opens doors to parasitic relationships, draining my time and energy. I had to set boundaries or ask the other person for something in return to help them out.
Recent Example:
Fellow Blogger: “Would you read my latest eBook and give me a testimonial.”
Me: “Sure I will if you will add a link to my blog with the testimonial.”
This is an equal energy exchange—something for something or value for value—whatever you want to call it. I have relationships with some friends and relatives where we do things for each other without asking for anything in return right then and there.
We have a setup where we can ask each other for help from time to time without any resistance.
What Things Are Worth Your Time and Energy?
- Reading Books
- Exercising
- Family Dinners
- Meditating
- Creating income streams
- Enjoying a good movie
- Enough proper sleep
- Getting a massage or bodywork done
- Taking Personal Growth Courses
What’s Not Worth Your Time?
- Energy drainers and dumpers
- Ruminating about the past
- Staying at a job you dislike
- Endless Web surfing
- Endless Television watching
- Drinking alcohol
- Complaining
- Buying luxury items that don’t add value to your life
- Getting a worthless degree to have one
How Do You Value Your Time?
The million-dollar question. I remember having my first psychic reading with Dr. Gwen Macgregor in 1997. I asked all the typical questions about my health, my relationships, and, of course, money.
I will paraphrase what Dr. Gwen said about money, which was along these lines.
“There are billions of dollars floating around out there every day and there is no reason some of that money can’t flow to you. Your mind might say; I can’t be a billionaire, but that is not true. You can be just like them. It all starts in here (she pointed to her heart) not here (she pointed to her head).”
The word she spoke next to me is what got to me and this post today.”It would help if you value yourself first, and the money will follow.”
Begin with Self-Valuation. For many people, the most challenging thing is learning to value themselves. The truth is that many jobs do not want to pay you what you are worth, which is why they either have an hourly pay scale, a flat salary, or a commission-based salary.
That is my primary challenge when it comes to working for someone else. You can either accept the payment or reject it. Most of us take it and hope you will receive a raise someday.
Entrepreneurs Value Their Time
Since being online, I have seen many people quit their jobs to work online full-time. It’s not that hard once you have something to sell. I recommend making the transition over time instead of taking the plunge.
Some online entrepreneurs promote affiliate products and earn commissions, while others sell ebooks and membership programs. Some also sell services such as web/ graphic design, coaching, mentoring, freelance writing, intuitive readings, etc.
For many people, their website is just a portal to their services.
A website is like a brick-and-mortar business; only the rent is cheaper. And you would be shocked if you saw how many individual website owners are pulling in between $2000 – and $40,000 a month.
Wow! Wow! Who would have thought that was even possible? Sure, the giant online businesses, maybe, but single-owned websites pulling in that kind of money?
If I worked for a “big business,” they would pay me what they wanted unless I applied for an executive position. However, working for myself, I can charge whatever I want for my services.