Invest in Yourself… Buy Time
I was just about to get out of my car when the radio mentioned a study about buying free time being linked to happiness. When I think of my life, I find it so true. My experiences is also one of the reasons I encourage you to invest in yourself. If it means you need to buy time, then so be it.
It’s interesting though, many of us are more willing to purchase material goods for ourselves than purchase services which free up time. Yet the study, mentioned that people who spend money on freeing up time tend to rate higher on the happiness scale. Personally, I think it’s a mindset.
For months… maybe it’s going on a year now, I’ve known I needed help in my business. I dream of having someone to help me. I’ve made lists of the tasks and job duties, yet I put off investing in services that’d help me do it.
When I first started my business, I outsourced a few tasks here and there. However, I knew what I truly needed was an assistant. Earlier this month, I finish decided to work on the job description. My assistant came on board this Friday. I handed her the first task. Within a couple of hours, she’d finished. And yes… it bumped my happiness level.
In the past, it was a task I’d put off doing for a few days because something more important always needed my attention. Yet this task was one of those things that was important to accomplish… at sometime in the near future.
What did I do with the time I reclaimed? Honestly? I don’t know. However, I do know that I was able to record and edit a short video. You’re invited to attend. Work on my presentation. Put together policies and procedures. Spend time with my visiting mom. And a host of other things. All without having to worry about the task, which would have continued to mentally nag me throughout the weekend.
Buying time is LIBERATING.
Hiring my assistant has given me the same kind of happiness as the day my housekeeper comes.
I often come across people who say “I can’t afford to…” I have to wonder. Is that really true? Or did the person convince themselves they can’t. Remember… I’m the “How can I?” gal.
Not saying you’re a Starbucks drinker. However, I was doing the math. Let’s say an individual who works 5 days a week, picks up a drink at Starbucks every work day. We’ll give the price of the drink $5.
48 weeks (we’ve given you 2 weeks of vacation and 2 weeks of personal time)
5 days a week
$5 coffees
48*5*5 = $1,200
Compare that to coffee at home (for those who have to have a cup of coffee). Let’s go with $1 a cup. 48*5*1 = $240. Coffee at home could mean nearly an extra $1,000 a year.
Maybe your vice isn’t coffee. Maybe it’s something else. My vice is bottled water, by the way. The same principle applies. I could easily go through 3-5 bottles of water a day. That’s just me. Add the kids to the mix and we were spending a small fortune. We invested in a water filter. It’s more environmentally friendly. It’s a fraction of the cost. And the water tastes great.
Sometimes it’s not about what we can’t afford. It’s about how we choose to spend our money.
Life is about making choices.
How we spend our time, money, and other resources… it all comes down to choices.
Sometimes it’s helpful to look at the end goal. For example, when I was buying and drinking bottled water (which is almost as expensive as gasoline), the end goal was to drink delicious water. It was a taste that tap water couldn’t provide, nor all types of bottled water. The money my family spent on bottled water could almost fund the total cost of a housekeeper coming in once a week.
It’s interesting, because we really didn’t have to give up anything. Rather, we changed how we were doing things to open up more opportunities to get other things we wanted. It all comes down to “How Can I?”
Today, I ask you….
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