The Value of Time

How much is your time worth? That question means different things to different people. For some people it means calculating the hourly wage they earn from work. For others the answer is defined more abstractly in happiness, fun, and fulfillment. Still others find the worth of their time in the results seen around them: the growth of their children, the success of a business, the effect of a ministry. Even if you use your hourly wage as a guide, there are still a lot of hours in a day not accounted for by your paycheck.

No matter how you define the value of your time, each person is given the same amount of it. "No one's rich, nobody's poor/We get twenty four hours each" Chris Rice, Life Means So Much You can listen to the whole song on You Tube


It is pretty much impossible to equate my time with a dollar amount. Believe it or not, most writers don't make a whole lot of money. Particularly writers trying to get their first book published, like me. We make nothing. :) I was, and really still am, a bit of a reality show junky. I love competition shows like Dancing With the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, American Idol, HGTV Design Star, etc. I have gone through spells watching the dating shows as well. When I started writing, and I mean really writing in the I-want-to-get-this-published kind of way, those shows were the first thing to go. The results of time spent writing/learning the craft meant more to me than the results of time spent watching someone's dreams get crushed.

The question boils down to what means more to you? What enriches your life the most? Maybe you enjoy golf but you love the results of investing time in your kids. In order to get the most time doing what you love (playing with the kids), you may have to give up what you like (playing golf). Is that difficult - Yes, Extremely. Is it worth it - Yes, definitely.

Sleep is awesome, but time spent with God is better. So I have a goal to start avoiding the snooze button and reaching for the Bible instead.

Chocolate rocks, but I think a healthy body in the long run is worth more than the temporary taste of bliss. So I'm planning on working in exercise after Bible reading.

There are even areas of ministry that I love and am good at, but not at the expense of time with my family. (A caveat on this one - these are things God has provided OPTIONAL opportunities for me to do. If He has CALLED me to it, it takes a much higher priority. It gets done.)

Starting in October - hopefully, this is the plan anyway - on Mondays I'll be posting about ways to save/more efficiently spend time and money. Why? Because I think it's important. Because the more time you save the more time you have to read. :) And when I get published, I want you to have some time built in to be able to read it.

What about you? What are some things you would love to spend time on but other things bring more value to your time spent?