Value yourself and your time
(This is an old post from 2017, though still relevant)
When you work at home, I think people tend to value your time less. For some reason, they think you have more of it. The reality is, you actually have the same amount, but it often feels like you have less of it. How do you get past this and really value your time what it is worth?
You're running a business from your home, that does not mean you do not have a job, obligations, etc. That does not mean you can take in someone else's child for the day because they are sick. That does not mean that you can do extra volunteer work for the PTO (or otherwise). Your children think you can pick them up and take them places on a whim and your significant other or family members think you can just do whatever they may need on any given day and time, right? No. Wrong. Why is this so hard to understand?
You have the freedom of setting your own schedule, sure, which is a really wonderful thing. It means with advance notice, you can schedule in time to do some things for others, but just because you're not clocking in at some office doesn't mean that you can just take "off" whenever you please.... at least not without facing consequences of backlog and falling behind on obligations.
Last year, my daughter had to face a reality check. She wanted me to bring her to school everyday. (This is a task that due to traffic, took no less than one hour.) She was not being mean, selfish, or otherwise, but I had to explain to her that just because I am not leaving the house to drive to an office and clock in, did NOT mean that I was not working. I had work to do and an allotted amount of time to complete my tasks. A deadline, so-to-speak, if I wanted to have evenings off with her and the family, I HAD to get that work done during the time they were in school. It was a wake-up call to me that she didn't view my business as a job, in the traditional "go to work" kind of way. It occurred to me, then, that she was not the only one. Most of the people in my life that needed me to do things for them felt the same way. That I could just "take off" at the drop of a hat.
All of that to say this: Your time IS VALUABLE! You aren't goofing off. You're working. You aren't clocking in, but you're clocking in. You're trying to create a balance that a "normal" job offers in a place where there is no normal. It's hard. It's sometimes impossible. But look at you. You're rocking it anyway. Or at least you're working on rocking it.
We talked about business hours and why they are so important, but it is more than that, honestly. So here's my thoughts on how to really value your time, to help others understand what it is that you're doing and why you can't constantly submit to their every whim:
1. Set business hours and stick to them. This is important because it allows you to realistically set priorities and get stuff done AND it allows for that all-important downtime that we need as humans.
2. Value your product/service/etc. at a level in which you are NOT overworking yourself. You have to value your product/service so that you are not working for pennies. You need to figure prices carefully. You should make no less than $10-15 an hour AND have profit that goes back into your business. There are a billion different formulas out there for pricing and I'm not going to recommend one, I'm just going to say that you need to make sure that you are paying yourself well for your time and expertise AND putting money back into your business.
3. Don't be afraid to say no. Your time is just as valuable as anyone else's. Sometimes you have to say no. If you do not, then you can not possibly be giving your best you to the tasks you take on. If you are overextended, burnt out, etc. you can't be nearly as helpful to anyone (yourself included) as if you'd said no when your time was spent. Keep track of obligations. Don't overbook on a business or personal level.
4. Understand the relationship between time and money. This is not something I fully understood until I was much older. As a matter of fact, I could tell you the exact point that it hit me. I was in the middle of remodeling my kitchen. I was fully capable of completing each task that needed to be done in order to finish the remodel (skillwise). BUT I didn't have the TIME to do so. I knew that hiring someone who had done these things a hundred times would be much faster, too. I was losing more money not working (on my business) than I would have been paying someone to finish the job for me. So, there it was. Time really IS money.
5. Don't be afraid to ask for help. This could be in many different forms. This could be asking the kids and hub to help more around the house. It could be hiring a virtual assistant to take on the (neverending) task of social media. Maybe it's an employee to help you complete production. Whatever it is, it's not a bad thing to ask for help! Asking for help isn't always easy, but it is a sign of growth.
I hope this article helps you understand that you are not alone. You are valuable. So, so much! Treat yourself as if you're the most valuable employee in your business. Because you are. You deserve raises, you deserve paid vacations and all of the perks of traditional jobs. Don't be afraid to give them to yourself. The more you value your time, the more others will, too.
What was the moment when you started to really realize the connection between time and money? Do you think you have, yet?
What advice can you give others about valuing their time?