Do you wonder if you’re wasting your time on the wrong things?
Or maybe you want to know how you should invest your time to reach your goals.
Scratch that–ever feel like you just DON’T have the time to do what needs to be done in your business or life?!
When I ask people what’s stopping them from reaching their goals, the most common complaint I hear is, “I don’t have the time. There’s just not enough hours in the day!”
Whether you’re just starting your business, on top of still working your 9-5 job or you’ve made the leap to work full time in your business, I can bet that you feel strapped for time.
As an entrepreneur, how you invest your time is incredibly important. Investing your time on the right things can lead to getting quicker results, experiencing less stress, earning more money and living a more fulfilling life.
On the other hand, spending your time on the wrong things can lead to painstakingly slow progress, failure and even unhappiness. All things I know you don’t want!
One of the equal playing fields in life is that we all have the same 24 hours a day.
Before even thinking about how to invest your time, you must first calculate how much free or discretionary time you have each week.
How much time do you have to invest?
To figure out how much time you have to invest each week, let’s do some quick math!
24 hours a day X 7 days a week =
a total of 168 hours a week
Now of course you have to sleep, or else you’ll be a walking zombie.
Let’s say you sleep 8 hours each night in a 7 day period, which adds up to a total of 56 hours of sleep time each week.
168 hours total time each week – 56 hours of sleep time each week =
a total of 112 waking hours a week
(If you’re like me and often need about 9 hours of sleep, you’ll still have 105 hours of waking time each week–not bad for the extra zzzzz’s!)
Let’s take it one step further…
On top of building and growing your business, let’s say you’re still working 40 hours a week in your 9-5 job to pay the bills and invest in your business.
112 waking hours a week – 40 hours a week at your 9-5 job =
a total of 72 hours of time you’re free to invest
One of the most common excuses people use for not making progress and achieving their business and lifestyle is, “I don’t have the time”.
Well, I’m here to tell you that it’s a bunch of BS. I’d be doing you a disservice if I don’t call you out on it.
You DO have the time (…even if you’re still working in your 9-5) to make meaningful progress in your life.
You have at least 72 hours each week to invest in areas of your business and life that are most important to you and will make the biggest impact.
Before we get into the best ways to invest your time. I need to make an important distinction. There’s a big difference between spending time and investing time. Here’s what I mean…
Spending Time VS. Investing Time
To help illustrate these contrasting ideas, let’s think in terms of money because there are many similarities between your time and money. You can either spend money or invest money.
When you spend money, you’re using it up or exhausting it. For example, if you were to spend money on a designer bag, you’ve spent that money. It’s gone and you’re not really looking for anything in return, besides looking and feeling fabulous. It pretty much ends there!
When you invest money, your intention is to expand your resources and get a good return on investment (ROI). For example, you can invest money in a retirement fund, real estate or a high-yield savings account so that your money grows overtime.
Just as you can spend or invest your money,
you can spend or invest TIME.
When you spend your time, it’s spent, done and gone! For example, this is time you spend endlessly scrolling on social media, aimlessly surfing the internet or watching TV for hours. You may get a little enjoyment or pleasure from it but nothing more comes with it.
When you invest your time, you think strategically about how you can make every hour count. Instead of “spending time” you engage in activities that are calculated to bring you a great return.
For example, creating products to sell, building relationships and gaining new skills. When you invest your time, there’s a high probability that the time you invest will keep paying you back, over and over again. You can build wealth with your time that goes beyond cash.
10 Ways to Invest Your Time Wisely
The best way to invest your time is to do things that make the biggest impact in your business and life. For example, instead of spending time complaining about your problems, you can invest time finding solutions.
To make sure you’re investing your time on the right things, you first must be very clear on your definition of “success” in business and life. When you’re clear on your priorities, it’s easier to make the best decisions on where to invest.
Taking into consideration your personal business and lifestyle goals, here are the best ways to invest your time as an entrepreneur.
How to Invest Your Time:
1. Package your expertise, knowledge and skills into a premium product, program or service to profit off your passions
2. Launch a profitable product, program or service that both helps you make a difference and reach your monthly income goals consistently
3. Gain new skills, get educated and build your expertise to be among the best in your industry, increasing your earning potential
4. Grow your business by sharing your message, your brand and your business with people who need what you offer
5. Create and maintain relationships that matter, whether it’s networking with other influencers in your industry or connecting with the people you love
6. Create financial freedom by paying off debt, making great investments, putting money in the bank and creating passive income products that you can sell over and over again to leverage your time
7. Improve your mental, emotional and physical health so you’re able to perform at your highest potential in all areas of life
8. Engage in leisure activities (things that have nothing to do with your business!) that bring you pleasure, joy and fulfillment because there’s joy in life beyond running your business
9. Plan your days, week and months ahead of time to make sure what’s most important to you makes it on your calendar
10. Set up systems that help you optimize, automate and outsource things that demand your precious time
Your time is one of your most valuable assets and resources. To create a profitable business and a fabulous life, you must learn how to make wise investments in your time.
Now that you have a better perspective on how much discretionary time you have each week you can make more conscious decisions about how you invest your time to reach your business and lifestyle goals.
Where will you invest more of your hours each week to move your business and life forward?
Decide where you will invest your time and add it to your calendar THIS week.
No matter where you are right now in your business and life, you have enough time to work towards what’s most important to you.
Love,
Noelle
1 comment. Leave new
Great points Noelle. There are plenty of ways to squeeze some time in to invest time wisely.