Time is one of the most valuable things in our life. We can not compare anything else with time. Once we have spent time doing something, it is never going to come back. Each and everything in this world is dependent on time.
In real life, we see most people valuing money more than time. But, it is a fact that time is more valuable than money. Time is the only one that gives us money, prosperity, happiness, and whatnot. But no one can return the time we have already spent.
Time is a very essential resource for us. Everyone gets the same of time in a day, and we all should make the most out of that time. We should also remember that it is effortless to waste time, but we have to think about the right things. So, we must utilize time properly and respect it.
Time is the only thing that never returns once you have spent it doing any work.
It always flows in a forward direction, which means time is irreversible. So, we should never waste time.
Most of us know that time can never be brought back, but we still waste it doing unnecessary things or doing nothing.
Most people grow a terrible habit of piling up all works for the last moment. They don’t utilize the time to get to finishing those works, and in the last moments, they complain about not having enough time.
All successful people respect the time and understand the importance of time in life. They are also very punctual.
They don’t waste time on unnecessary things, and, when they get free time, they do creative things. That means they utilize leisure time in productive ways.
A student who knows how important time is for his life can succeed in his future and lead a disciplined life through time management.
If we all want to manage our time, then we must make lists or works, prioritize tasks, and set goals to achieve.
Always try to finish your works first and then try to help others finishing theirs.
Remember one thing. A disciplined life with proper management of time will lead you to a better future.
The Time vs. Money Dilemma
At some level, we all have an internal gauge for how much our time is worth. For example, if someone offers to pay you $0.07 for one hour of work, you would immediately decline. Meanwhile, if someone offers to pay you $7,000 for one hour of work, you would immediately accept.
On extreme ends of the spectrum, it is easy to know if a task is worth your time. As you move toward the middle of the time-value spectrum, however, it becomes less clear if a particular task is worth your time or not. And this is the problem: most of life is lived in the gray zone of the time-value spectrum.
For example:
Should you buy the nonstop flight and save two hours or get the flight with a stopover and save $90?
Should you pay your neighborhood teenager $20 to mow your lawn so you have an extra hour free on the weekend?
Should you spend this week working with a client that will pay you $2,000 right away or working on a business idea that could generate $20,000 over the next year?
We make choices like these everyday, but most people base their decisions on gut feelings or guesswork and never calculate what their time is actually worth. Everyone has an hourly value, but very few people can actually tell you what that number is.
How to Track Your Time
The first step is to measure the total amount of time you invest to earn money, not just the hours you are physically at work. For example, if you spend one hour commuting to work each day and eight hours at work, then it cost you nine hours to earn money that day. Similarly, you should add in any time you spent working on a side hustle or dropping your kids off at daycare. Using these numbers, we are trying to get a complete picture of the total amount of time you invest each year to earn money.
If you struggle to come up with an estimate for your time, you're not alone. Most people only have a vague sense of where their 24 hours go each day. If you're unsure how much time you spend working, I recommend using 2,500 hours per year as a starting point.
Let’s say you spend 10 hours per day either at work, commuting to work, or doing tasks related to work. With a five day workweek, that’s 50 hours per week. And if you work 50 weeks per year (2 weeks off for vacation), then that’s 2,500 hours per year. I'll leave it to you to make adjustments based on your specific circumstances, but for most full-time employees or entrepreneurs, I think 2,500 hours will get you in the right ballpark.
How to Track How Much Money You Earn
The second factor you need to know is how much money you earned during the time you spent working.
This is pretty simple. If you're an hourly worker or a salaried employee, just look at your latest paycheck and multiply that by the number of paychecks you receive per year. If your pay hasn't changed much this year, you can also look at your tax return from last year and just use that number. You should also include money from side hustles and freelancing gigs because the time you spent on those activities is included.
The number we are trying to calculate is your take-home pay. This is the amount of money you have left after deducting taxes. For most employees, taxes are withheld from your paycheck, so your take-home pay is basically what you get paid. If you are a business owner, however, you should deduct taxes and business expenses from your top-line revenue.
Calculate the Value of Your Time
For example, let's say you spend 2,500 hours per year earning money:
If you make $12,316/year, your time is worth $4.93/hour. This is the 2014 poverty line for an individual in the United States.
If you make $46,226/year, your time is worth $18.49/hour. This is the 2014 median income for women in the United States.
If you make $62,455/year, your time is worth $24.98/hour. This is the 2014 median income for men in the United States.
If you make $100,000/year, your time is worth $40.00/hour.
If you make $1,000,000/year, your time is worth $400.00/hour.
Again, all of these numbers assume that you are working 2,500 hours per year. Obviously, the numbers will shift if you work more hours or fewer hours.
Truths About the Value of Time
1. Your time is valuable
You can’t hold time in your hands. Despite its lack of tangibility, the importance of time exceeds monetary value.
Like money, you can waste time or save it. Unlike money, you can’t get the time back you’ve spent. So choose to spend it wisely and not all in one place.
2. You never know how much time a loved one has left
A person who is here today can be gone tomorrow. The argument you had with a friend could be the last words you ever say to them.
This illuminates the importance of time in that you should only spend a little of it being upset at someone you love.
Also, it shows that you should spend as much time as you can with the people you love.
3. You don’t know how much time you have left
You never know how much time you have left on this earth. Even those who are terminally ill don’t have their fate set in stone.
It would be reckless to say live every day as your last since that would lead to very impulsive decisions.
That being said, you should live life without overthinking your decisions.
There’s no sense in wasting time when you don’t know what tomorrow will bring.
4. Time teaches you
Lessons learned highlight the importance of time. It takes time to make mistakes and even more time to learn from them.
You can find great teachers at Harvard, but time is the greatest teacher of all.
Experience is what builds your character and morals.
Time and experience run parallel to each other.
5. How you spend your time affects you
If you spend all your time watching TV, you will be amazing at watching TV.
If you take that amount of time to do something productive, you will get good at something.
It takes time to get good at anything. Make an effort to improve a skill by putting the work in.
6. Who you spend your time with changes you
You are who your friends are. The HuffPost reported on research that indicates that your friends can influence your decisions for better or worse.
Friends can help you avoid risky decisions, but they can also normalize bad behavior.
You’re more inclined to take that next shot or grab McDonalds’ if a friend encourages it.
Your bad behavior can be your downfall if you spend too much time with bad influences.
7. Time dulls the edge of pain
The pain of ten years ago is probably not the pain you carry today.
This is undeniably tone-deaf to someone who is dealing with immediate pain.
Moving forward, this truth is actualized. A memory may hurt whenever it crosses your mind, but it won’t hurt as badly.
The importance of time manifests as an anesthetic.
8. Treasure time because it’s fleeting
Time perception includes the past, present, and future.
We can learn from the past and look forward to the future, but the only time that is important is the present.
Be in the moment every moment because that is all you have. The present slips away quickly, so make every moment count.
9. It binds you to other people
The era of time that you were born in links you to the collective experience of others.
Without knowing someone, if you were raised around the same time, there is much you can relate on.
Boomers have different struggles than Gen Z. Morals are different depending on what era you were born in.
Time binds people together for this reason.
10. Nothing can escape it
There is not a thing on Earth that can escape the clutches of time.
Every living and inanimate thing ages over time. Oceans become barren and newborns become centenarians.
11. Taking time to help others is powerful
Any amount of time you can dedicate to serving others is time well spent.
How much you’re able to do for someone in a little amount of time shows the importance of time.
Taking an hour out of your week to speak to a homeless person will make them feel more human.
Spending 15 minutes to help someone learn can change their life.
12. Time is everything and nothing simultaneously
It’s true that your time is one of the most important things in this world.
Alternatively, time isn’t real. Just because you spent a lot of time on something doesn’t mean you have to stick with it for the rest of your life.
The same goes for dwelling on past events. You can spend just as much time on whatever brings you joy.
13. Strong relationships are forged over time
When you take the time to get to know someone, you will become close to them.
If you never make a genuine effort to get closer to a person, then you will never know the importance of time.
Fostering strong relationships with those around you pays off. You can’t go about this world without any support.
The world is a lonely place without good friends and family to connect with.
14. Time management helps you throughout life
There are only 24 hours in a day. You can make the most of it by optimizing your time.
Time management skills can help you in every walk of life.
It will make you a better worker and friend when you don’t overbook yourself.
When you make the time for both work and play it benefits your mental health, to boot.
15. Time flies after a certain age
Life can be defined by checkpoints and milestones. As you grow up, these milestones are defined for you.
You graduated from school or you got your first job.
You get older and these checkpoints are less defined. Your life is stable and while exciting, a repetition.
A part of understanding the importance of time is recognizing you need to have measurable, timely goals.
Life will fly by without it.
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