Growing up, we only learn about investments in terms of money, assets, and possessions. As you begin your journey of adulting, you hear about investing your money instead of leaving it in savings accounts to rot. They teach us to not waste money and to tighten things for our future.
You try your luck in stocks and other tradable assets. But after a few years of minimal returns, It feels hopeless, so you keep it safe in higher-interest online banks, hoping it works as well.
We focus so much on making money, the things we can do and purchase with money. We forget there is more to the word invest than money and getting rich.
Only recently has the world remembered self-care and the value of investing in yourself and investing time in things that matter to you down the line.
1. The Time We Spend
You spend 8 hours or more each day working for someone else. We put more money into the pocket of the CEO. Essentially, the business invests its capital into the employees’ time for more sales and better profit. They have to put their money into workers who will earnestly provide them the 8-hour equivalent in labor. Who would not want their money’s worth?
No one would invest in things that have no returns. So you and I have those key performance indicators, monthly quotas, and targets. It is on the little employee’s shoulders to ensure the company earns more and the manager’s shoulders to push for those milestones.
You spend 8 to 10 hours (if you consider the preparation and commute) of your day on the goals and objectives of someone else at a value that they set.
This begs the question, is it worth the time you spend?
2. Time and Its Monetary Equivalent
Holding down a nine-to-five, we invest our time in a business where the profit enters other people’s pockets. But we do earn. We trade our time, brain cells, energy, and sometimes mental well-being for a fixed monthly salary.
What you earn should match (but is usually disproportionate to) the amount of work you put into that company and into that job post.
After a long day of work, we spend time on social media to unwind and dissociate from the world. Even this puts more money into the pockets of other CEOs who earn from the advertisements on our feed.
Either way, we use our time to put money into the pockets of wealthier people. Our time and attention are a treasure.
From the prime of television and radio, time on a channel or station meant money for the production companies. They have earned from the minutes or hours you put into their process or content through advertisements.
There is nothing wrong with that. We all need to make a living one way or the other.
But with all this in place, a disconnect exists between the value of that time and the benefit of the employee or the end user. We are so used to giving it away we forget it should be mutually beneficial—all of the time.
Of course, your salary and your entertainment are benefits. But is it proportional?
3. The Value of Your Time
Yes, working by the hour may mean you are earning for your time. That you are investing your time for money in your pocket— you work to sustain yourself and maybe splurge on small luxuries. But it also takes time from something else that could (possibly) earn more in the long run, or better yet, something that keeps your soul alive.
We all need money to survive the day-to-day. Working for it is noble, but the price we accept for our time and labor should be just. The physical, mental, and emotional toll from work should also be covered. Your pay should be able to address any ailment as a result of the time you invested on the job.
The time you put into a job and the money you earn from it may be the first steps into your future. It could be your investment toward retirement from the job, a promotion, or capital for other income-generating moves. Your job could be one step toward a bundle of opportunities in the long run—you have to ensure it is worth your time.
Some people work and stick to jobs just because they have to. They may get paid better than minimum wage, but they know deep inside they could make better use of their time.
It is easy to hold on to the first offer at the door. It makes sense to demand more with the more experience you get and the better at your job you become. Stop lowballing yourself. Rich asses need to pay up. Know the value of your time.
4. Properly Investing Your Time (There Are No Wrong Answers)
Talking to one of my baby brothers reminded me about investing my time. He has put in hours and hours to try and master his craft in music production. Slowly, he is earning from it.
As he continues to invest the time to grow and learn, he knows how much better he is getting and (though slow) how much more footing he is gaining in the industry. According to him, just one placement can earn him more than a mere employee makes in a lifetime. The royalties he could earn match all my investments in a decade.
This made me take a look at where I invest my time most.
My time has long been pushed aside after working and prioritizing the timelines and expectations of a company. I learned to forget that the time on my lap is mine. I should have a choice in how it is spent—even if that just means spending a whole day catching up on sleep.
There is a choice when it comes to the time I spend. A big reminder I learned from conversations with those younger than me.
Here is something insightful from our corporate meeting for this quarter that may help us understand our time:
The CEO of our company decided to change the term of our quarterly objectives to Rocks. Justifying the decision that these are the most important tasks of the quarter, followed by pebbles (smaller priorities) and then sand (everyday tasks). If you fill your day with sand, you cannot squeeze time on for the pebbles or the rocks. But if you start your day with the rocks, you can always squeeze in a few pebbles and fill the rest of the day with the sand.
So goes for our lives. What matters most? What should we fill our time with the most? What big projects should we spend most of our time on? What should I consider pebbles, and what is considered sand?
Busyzi 