Working in Sydney should go without saying; most people have two words at the tip of their tongue at all times…
Stressed and tired!
We accept this as the norm and seem to work ourselves to the bone on a mission to execute the daily grind in pursuit of the bigger picture. This is a fair statement for most, but when was the last time you actually stopped to reflect and see what was actually important to you and whether the mission you originally set out for was still as high on the priority list as it once was?
When most people are asked what they wish they had more of, most would answer with something to do with time. The interesting fact is that when working hours, especially for white collar professionals, over the last 30 years our average working hours have actually decreased from a peak of 35 hours in the 80s to 33 hours in the 2000s with a significant decline in those transitioning from full time to part time work.
So do the averages speak for everyone and if so, where is all of this extra time going? This is an answer that can be hard to quantify and may provide us little benefit. Well then… what can we do about it?
When I work with my clients I will get them to write a list of the things in both their business and life they love doing the most along with a list of the tasks that they really dislike doing with an aim of outsourcing those mundane tasks to make more time for what they really enjoy in life. Pretty simple exercise right? When was the last time you did it?
A real life example is one involving myself. I loathe cleaning, particularly washing/drying/ironing, but like most adults in life you generally ‘man up’ and get it done regardless of your views. When I finally took the time to analyze the ‘cost/benefit’ of my time and the amount of time I was investing each week into this task I realized that I was actually losing around 50 hours a year on average on something that I really didn’t want to do. When I worked out the cost of outsourcing that task which is around $30 a week and what the benefit was of reinvesting that newly discovered time, I was able to have the freedom to use that time to make additional income or get some much needed leisure. My conscious choice was to invest that time into martial arts training which is my way of relieving stress and unwinding, along with increasing my overall productivity.
How to put this into action:
- Write your list of likes and dislikes in your work and life
- Define how much time on average you are spending each week on each
- Ask yourself honestly how much time you would like to be spending on each
- Define a nominal value of your time- either a tangible/ intangible
- Look for opportunities to outsource to maximize your time doing mostly the things you enjoy
- Live the dream!
Thanks for reading,
Jackson | The Wealth Mentor
