Want to stop wasting time? Start to really value your time.

Do you really value what you do with your time?

Do you think your time management is OK? Does what you do demonstrate that you value your time? What if you paid yourself for what you do?

Seriously. I appreciate your being here and reading this, but have you been scrolling social media or exploring different sites on the Internet? Did you spend any time today that you consider somewhat “less than productive”? If you paid yourself, oh, say $25/hour for all the constructive work you have done in the last two hours, how much would you have earned? If you are reading this early, and you have not been up for two hours, what would you have earned for the first two hours of your day yesterday? And the day before that?

Round clock with time set at 11:54. The top face of the clock is bent forward. The edge of the clock has a zipper and there is an opening. From this opening are seven American bills. The front dollar has the picture of Benjamin Franklin. — When you waste time, you waste money.

You know that that money will be not be put into your bank account for your own work, unless you own a business and have been really productive today. Poor time management skills, however, can cost you money.

I remember reading this about Bill Gates of Microsoft fame. <<With a worth of $72 billion, a 6% rate of return would earn Gates roughly $114.16 per second he is alive, making it a poor investment for Bill Gates to bother picking up a $100 bill if he dropped it (Fischer -Zernin, 2013).>> I do not know about you, but I cannot quite wrap my mind around that idea. The numbers are, for me, just too unreal. I will guess they are unreal for you as well.

You and I can only dream of having billions of dollars.

On a more realistic level, have you ever thought about what would happen if you paid yourself for the way you spend your time? People do things all the time and do not give a lot of thought to whether any given activity is allowing us to be productive or even useful. If you had to pay yourself for what you did this past weekend, would you earn anything, or would you go into debt?

This is a black and white photo. There is a hand holding a pocket watch and sand is spilling out of the hand onto a pile of sand below the hand.. This is conveying the idea that time slips away. — Without time management, time slips away.

I would bet you spend a lot of time wishing you had more time. Wishing you had more time is a poor time management tactic actually. You are wasting time when you just think and do not do anything. Planning is better than wishing.

Have you ever lost points on an assignment because you forgot to do something?

My assignment checklist can help you remember the details.

Check it out! It is FREE!!!!

Sleeping-in or earning money? Which shows that you value your time?

What if you started thinking about what would happen if you paid yourself for what you actually do?

If you were paid for what you do, would you

Spend more time on social media?
Sleep in on weekends?
Binge-watch Netflix?
Do a lot of things you currently do?

My guess is the answer would be “No”. Sleeping is great, but if being awake and active would earn me more money, I would probably be awake and active. Given the choice, what would you do? How would you change your time management?

Time or money or both?

I said at the beginning that you would not be putting cold hard cash in the bank for each hour of studying, but isn’t the time you spend in study investing in yourself and your future? True, you are not adding to your retirement account, but you are working on something that will get you a better job and, over time, a greater income. In this case, you are adding to your FUTURE bank account since you will be earning more money over your lifetime. Isn’t that something you would like to happen?

I know. Thinking about some distant time in the future is not always easy when there are distractions right around you now, but why do you not try thinking about how much you would pay yourself for some of the things you do now? What activities get you closer to where you say you want to be? What activities might be costing you future dollars?

You make choices. Are you making good choices that show you value your time?

Then again, maybe you really do not want to have a better job and more income. Isn’t that what you are admitting when you do unnecessary things instead of studying? If you thought about paying yourself, would that change any of your behaviors at all?

Would you become more productive if you were getting some reward for what you accomplished in your “free” time?

The background is dark shades of gray. At the top of the graphic, there are three lines. Each line has one word written in white chalk: Tomorrow. Below the third word is a set of three letters in three dimensions: The first letter, an N, is red. The second letter, an O, is yellow. The third letter, a W, is blue. The letters spell “NOW”. Below that is another word written in white chalk: Yesterday. — If you do not plan to do it, when will it get done?

If making your study time more efficient interests you, check out another of my blogs:

Developing a time management plan

Do you hate or love To-D0 lists?

23 tips to improve your study skills

If you found this helpful, please share it with someone you think would also find it useful. I would appreciate it. Your friend might appreciate it too.

Have you ever lost points on an assignment because you forgot to do something?

My assignment checklist can help you remember the details.

Check it out! It is FREE!!!!

If you have any questions or comments, please leave me a note.

Valerie

Reference:

Fischer – Zernin, M. F. (2013, May 30). 10 Ridiculous facts about how rich Bill Gates is, Mic. https://mic.com/articles/45397/10-ridiculous-facts-about-how-rich-bill-gates-is#.g5RfW1wmp

updated on 1 October 2023