Learning to Value Your Time

One thing I’ve learned in the last few years is how important it is to place a value on my time. That’s not to say I expect to get paid for every minute of the day. It just means I evaluate everything I’m invited to attend before deciding to spend my time there. Some events will have emotional value, so that is worth my time. Some might mean future business, so that is worth my time. Some events might just be fun, and that is worth my time too.

How do you decide what your time is worth? That is something only you can determine. I remember before Black Friday (the big shopping day after Thanksgiving in the US) last year, a group of people in Florida started a line in front of Best Buy a week before the actual date. For their efforts, some were awarded a free iPad. People were ecstatic. I was happy that they were happy, but wasting a week of my life in line for the chance at some so-so deals would not even be worth a $500 toy. Whatever their reasons, the lucky winners determined that spending a week sleeping outside in front of a Best Buy was good use of their time.

There are only so many hours in a day, and you can’t spend 24 of them on your business. You need to determine the areas in which you are adept and admit where you might need help. 

For example, if you do not enjoy writing, perhaps paying someone to ghost write blogs for your company is a good idea. This way, you are not spending valuable time being frustrated that you aren’t able to write for yourself. If you do not enjoy or understand Facebook and/or Twitter, then hiring an outside company to handle customer comments and post fresh content on your page would be a good use of your resources. 

Only you can decide what your time is worth. Do you have a social media plan? If and when you are ready for help in the blogging and social media realm, Social Sonar is here to help you create a plan and then put it into action!

alison

Alison has worked with clients of all sizes, from sole proprietors to television networks and financial institutions, including HBO, CBS, Showtime, Charles Schwab, and The Body Shop. In her career at DoubleClick, Google, and Infogroup, she learned social media, email marketing, SEO, and web design from the people inventing the standards. She makes a mean flourless chocolate cake.