Successful entrepreneurs aren’t ‘yes’ men or women. These are people who value their time and who want to invest that time wisely.
Whether you’re an entrepreneur or not, try to take the same approach. Your time is the most valuable asset you have and eventually it will run out.
Don’t waste it working on projects you don’t care about, spending time with people you don’t like or completing work for other people. Guard it fiercely and only use it in ways that are conducive to helping you get what YOU want out of life.
This is why it was so important for us to set our goals in chapter 6. And it’s why it’s so important to prune your social calendar and to learn to say ‘no’ more.
But it should also change the way you think about your time.
Every decision you make ultimately comes down to what the best way to utilize your time is. When you get a text from a friend at work, you have to decide whether it’s worth answering now or trying to get that little bit more work done…
Most of us trade our time for money in our careers. This essentially means that you’re valuing your time at that amount.
When you think about this and when you think about how little time you actually have to do the things you love, then hopefully this will motivate you to go out there and chase what your worth.
And hopefully it will make you realize that you should fight for all the free time you have around your work – whether that means your commute, or just trying to organize flexi-time or the chance to work from home.
Outsourcing
It also means that you should think differently about the way you’re spending your money. If spending money means you can buy back more time, then this will very often be a very good use of your money.
That might mean outsourcing work such as cleaning to a cleaner, or it might mean getting a dishwasher. There are many other ways you can outsource your tasks too and get more time back.
For example, consider hiring a ‘virtual assistant’. These are people who will complete any task for you that can be completed remotely.
In other words, the service operates only by email and over the phone, which means that they can handle things for you like making appointments, arranging meetings, doing research and answering emails.
Traditionally, virtual assistants are used by entrepreneurs and small businesses. However, they can also be used for a range of personal tasks whether that means booking a table at a restaurant, researching your next car or suggesting holidays!
The best bit about virtual assistants is that they tend to be incredibly affordable: often they will charge as little as $3 for an hour of work. The limitation, other than the fact that they must work remotely, is that you will normally be outsourcing to India.
This means that they may not be native English speakers – so they might not be candidates to finish that report or essay for you.
There are many other ways to outsource your work too. Just understand that this can be a great way to invest your money and think of it as buying time.
Follow the tag THE STREAMLINED MIND to read the complete series.
