What is Your Time Worth?
By: Sara Payne, Magnify Missions Coach
Email: sara@magnifymissions.com
Recently my in-laws were visiting from out of state. Along with all of their luggage and gear, my father-in-law brought 7-8 boxes of old photo albums that needed to be sorted. His own mother had recently transitioned out of her home, and he was spearheading the slow removal of a lifetime of her possessions. His goal during their 6 day visit was to sort through and take out all of the pictures from every photo album. I watched him literally spend hours sitting in our lazy boy in the living room sorting through each album. Pictures were piled up next to him and each day he would grab another pile of albums to put in the garage and then bring in a new pile for sorting. This went on for all 6 days-morning, afternoon, evening. At one point early on in the process, I asked him why he was sorting them-if they were filled with pictures no one wanted anymore what was the point. The family, himself included, had already looked through all of them and taken what they wanted. He shared that he had the intent of selling the said albums for $1-2 a piece and thus they needed to be cleared out. Let me pause for a minute and tell you what was going on in my head as he divulged this information…
My Perspective on Time
The ideas about the value of time have been percolating in my mind for years now. I’ve read several books and had multiple experiences-personal and professional-that have really challenged my philosophy on time. Probably the most life altering impact on my perspective of time was losing my dad to glioblastoma (brain cancer) when he was only 56 years old. He passed away just two weeks after I had celebrated my 30th birthday. Losing a parent at what seemed like such a young age really changed how I view and value time. I had expected my dad would be there to walk me down the aisle, see my kids grow up, take hikes and bike rides, and he didn't get to do any of that. We had just a little over two years with him from the time of discovering the cancer to his actual passing. The first year was a good one and the second year got progressively harder as his health and mind declined. For me time is both valuable and limited, so I don’t take it for granted.
Let’s come back to my father-in-law’s pile of photos and albums. Here he was visiting us and his (about to turn “1”) granddaughter and spending hours of his time each day just sorting through albums of old photos-photos that most likely none of his kids will want to keep. With that knowledge swimming around my head, I made him an offer. I told him that I would gladly buy all of the albums right then and there for $1 each and save him all of the hours he was taking to clear them out. I would have of course promptly dumped all of them into the garbage and never thought of them again. I could tell for a moment that he was considering the proposal. Here I was offering him an out from what seemed like hours of drudgery and what I thought seemed like an incredible waste of time. He could just get the cash and be done with the burden of it all. Instead he didn’t take my offer, and decided to keep working on his “project”. Now to be fair, my father-in-law likes having a project and something to work on, and I think on some level he was somewhat enjoying the task. Still his rationale didn’t make sense to me.
Something else that’s important to understand in this situation is that my father-in-law was recently diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer. It is already in Stage 4 and he’s been given 1-2 years max to live. He had actually been diagnosed with a form of a sarcoma in his pancreas back in November. His options were either hospice if the cancer had spread to his lungs or a major surgery. At that point, it hadn’t spread and he underwent an extensive surgery, one in which his chances of survival were low. He came out with the best scenario possible considering his circumstances and was told he’d be able to live a normal life apart from his new ostomy and colostomy bags. It was nothing short of a miracle! So to be back at square one with the cancer having returned (or really never leaving) and this new sobering news, I wondered why he would choose to spend his time this way. I don’t have any insights or conclusions on his choice, but I will say it got me thinking again about the value of time versus money.
The Value of Time
I wondered how many people are not really thinking about where their time is going or what their time is actually worth. My challenge here is to really consider “how” you’re spending your time and “what” you’re investing it in. I recently read the book Buy Back Your Time, by Dan Martell, which outlines various practices and principles for how to get back and keep more of your time, which he argues (and I agree with) is our most precious commodity. He asserts that we too often waste the resource of time instead of giving mundane or non-enjoyable tasks to those who are more qualified or will actually enjoy doing them. His ideas had reiterated an idea that I had read in another book, The God Ask by Steve Shadrach, which outlines a support raising system for missionaries. The focus of that book is a conversation for another time. However, a major argument Shadrach made really stuck with me. He said many Christians, specifically those in ministry, celebrate spending hours of time bargain shopping or trying to be thrifty, and overlook the reality that they have wasted the resource of time. His challenge was basically, “Was the $10 you just saved on that item really worth the 3 hours of time you just spent looking for it?”
Indulge me for a moment as I do a little math. If we look at our time as being worth a certain dollar amount, then we should be accountable for spending it well. In the scenario I just mentioned above, let’s look at it as a person getting paid the amount they saved. So technically he/she just made $3.33/hour ($10/3 hours). Minimum wage in many states is still $7.25, but even that number has been shifting since COVID to a standard of $15/hour. If you normally get paid $15/hour and you spend 3 hours to save $10, then you’ve actually lost $35. You didn’t save money; you wasted time. Now I love a good bargain, and I actually find a trip to Goodwill to be a fun treasure hunting experience, but I’m not going there because I can’t afford to shop anywhere else. Shadrach’s point is that we serve a big God who will provide, and living like we’re poor and can’t afford things isn’t a good representation of God’s kingdom. His bigger point is that our time is a resource that we squander when we trade it in for saving a few measly dollars (my words). So how should we think about our time and its value?
How You Spend Your Time
In Michael Hyatt’s book Free to Focus, he outlines the tasks or work we do as falling under different zones. The main point of his book is to spend more time doing the work you are really passionate about and less time doing everything else. Are you spending time on tasks that aren’t enjoyable and are energy draining for you? He calls this the Drudgery Zone. Are you spending time on tasks that you do enjoy but don’t fall under your skills set? Are you spending too much time on one area and then neglecting other areas of your work? He would call this the Distraction Zone. Are there tasks you’re good at but that you don’t enjoy? This would be the Disinterest Zone. Finally, what are the tasks you’re really good at and that you love doing? This is the sweet spot or what he calls the Desire Zone. Let’s run with this model for a minute and apply it to a ministry setting. Here’s an example of what this might look like:
This is an exercise we do in our Magnify Missions Workshops. The goal is to slow down and reflect on how you actually spend your time. Are all of the tasks that you’re currently working on and responsible best suited for you? How much time are you spending in your Desire Zone? Are you wasting precious time on social media and website updates when you could be out having conversations about Jesus? Are you currently in charge of admin work that would be better suited to someone that actually loves it? It’s not a guilt-tripping exercise, it's one to help you realign your priorities and reevaluate how you’re using your time resource. In fact in our last workshop, we had several participants realize that a lot of their tasks were falling under the Drudgery Zone. They identified next steps of getting those tasks off their plate so they could do more of the work they love and ultimately what God designed them to do!
This exercise doesn’t only apply to work, but can also be used in regards to your personal life. Think through what activities you’d like to be doing more of. For me it’s hiking, riding my bike, and getting together with people. All this to say, your time is worth more than you probably think and I know that this won’t come as a surprise, but it’s limited. My father-in-law finished his task and I think he (mostly) enjoyed sorting all of the photos. I can tell you the hours spent were worth way more than the $20 he’s going to get for selling those albums, but that was his choice. You have yours to make.
If you want to take a look at the breakdown of your own ministry roles and tasks download this free Tasks and Time Exercise. It will help you reflect on each zone and identify more of the tasks that you are passionate about and proficient at completing. I hope it helps you move towards investing your time in more of what you love!
Sara Payne is first and foremost a beloved child of God. She likes to surround herself with people who love Jesus, be out in nature, work out, cook, and drink delicious cups of coffee. She is married to Ryan, an amazing man who loves Jesus, and also is (in her opinion) a rock star with a band called Attaboy. They have one beautiful little girl named Isabella, who is a joy and delight! Sara’s first job after college was as a missionary serving overseas in Budapest, Hungary. She then transitioned into being a full time English teacher in a PBL school on the south side of Indianapolis, IN. There her mission field was high school students. After getting married, she worked for Magnify Learning as a Branding Manager and PBL facilitator. Since becoming a mama, she now works for Magnify Missions where she is able to combine her love of missions and teaching to serve and coach missionaries around the world.
