From the course: Time Management Tips

Make investments to gain time

From the course: Time Management Tips

Start my 1-month free trial

Make investments to gain time

- When it comes to money, you likely understand the concept of an asset. Right, an asset is something you own, and it gives you more money over time, like I own a rental property, and I earn money because people are paying rent. But what if I told you you could also have time assets. These are things that you own, and they give you more time because you own them. These are tools, like technology, or computers, or phones, really anything that you do that give you more time. The focus on getting time assets is a 2% increase in your productivity. Why 2%? Because a 2% increase equals one extra work week every single year. For instance, in my office, I have done things to increase my productivity by investing in assets. I have more RAM in my computer. I've made sure that I've upgraded my hard drive to the latest edition. Even your keyboard, you use that on a regular basis. Is it functioning properly? Is it ergonomic? I have a mouse that I love to use because it has lots of extra buttons and functions that I can assign to things I perform on a regular basis. Also, having a phone that's maybe not the latest edition, but something that is working well and is fairly up to date is a good investment. Now, how do I know if I'm making wise investments in assets? In general, I want to get two times my investment within a couple of months. In other words, I want to figure out how much I'm worth per hour, and how much the upgrade would cost, and if it saves me two times that amount over the course of a couple of months, it's likely a good investment. Now, just a caution, you also want to watch out for time liabilities. Time liabilities are things that take time away from you because they're out of date or underperforming. For instance, I saw a business owner once who tried to save a few bucks by getting a cheap three-hole puncher. I watched him try to punch holes in a stack of paper, and it didn't work. He got frustrated. He went down the hall, borrowed the accountant's high-quality three-hole puncher, which worked beautifully. He walked all the way back to his office. And I asked the business owner, do you realize that because you were trying to save a few dollars by buying a cheap three-hole puncher, you're actually costing yourself several hundred dollars in value every single month? This is the perspective that I'd like you to look at. Try to find ways to invest in assets that give you more time and avoid time liabilities.

Contents