Productivity: value your time
I’ve spent literally hours of my life doing something manually because to automate it cost money. I’ve spent years frustrated by cumbersome hardware and software because I could get it cheaper than that which delights and is intuitive to use.
But I took a stand.
I really value my time these days. In fact, if it came down to an auction, I’d be the highest bidder – no doubt about it. The realisation dawned just over a year ago that I just wasn’t valuing my time high enough.
- Why spend twenty minutes online searching for somewhere to buy an item a pound cheaper? Are you working for £3/hour?
- Why do you put up with substandard products when you use them every day?
- Isn’t it worth investing in something that will lead to you being less frustrated?
My wife’s sick of me saying this by now, but I firmly believe that you should spend your money on the things that you use most often. For me that’s a bed, our shower, my computer, my mobile phone, and so on. You should also spend money on things that inspire and delight you. It all comes down to one of the quotes I shared recently that I aim to live by:
Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful. (William Morris)
But more than that. Allocate your time and money on things that are important. It reaps dividends both in terms of productivity and happiness. 🙂
A very fair point – I remember having a discussion several years ago with my brother, saying that it would be cheaper for him to change the oil in his car himself. He pointed out that he would rather have the time to do the things he wanted than the money it would cost to pay a mechanic.
Me, I quite like a bit of fettling and spannering, but he had a good point. The key, as always, is to find a good balance (and not spend so much on the things I enjoy that I can’t afford the things that I need!)
Exactly. If you enjoy (or want to learn) something, then fair enough. If
it’s something that you *don’t* like doing I would suggest it would be time
better spent earning the money (doing something that you’re good at and
enjoy) to pay someone else! 🙂