Uncommon Cents

Time, according to the late Randy Pausch, is the only commodity that truly matters. At least subconsciously, we put a price on time, one that is often related to the cold, hard facts of our paychecks. For instance, at my first job, I gauged my time as worth $3.35 an hour–because that was the rate at which I was paid.

Fortunately, I now have a much higher wage, but is that really what my time is worth? It’s a tough one to quantify.

An example: one of the things I’ve done for many of my friends, despite the fact that it’s lots of work and I don’t really care for it, are slide show presentations for weddings, birthday parties, graduations, or other special events. It’s a tedious process that I’m often asked to do because having a professional do it is quite expensive, and most feel that a friend can produce such things for less dollars.

To me, because I don’t enjoy doing it, it’s one of those things that no one could pay me enough to do. It’s the kind of job I tell people that is priceless, because no amount of money would make me feel satisfied (this is somewhat of an exaggeration–if someone wanted to pay me $100,000 for a 20 minute slide show, I would likely feel satisfied!). But it reflects for me the difficulty of putting a money value on time. It’s not just how much I get paid at my job, or how much I want to get paid; it’s how much I enjoy the particular task at hand or how it fits my value system. How much is it worth me, for instance, to worship every Sunday at my temple? Or to do a bike ride that lasts three hours under perfect weather?

It’s hard to say. Sometimes, time is priceless.

Tags: Productivity, Social aspects, Time management

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