What's Your Time Worth?

Last week I was confronted with a question: how much is my time worth? The way in which the question was presented hit me between the eyes and it was relevant to the discussion. This discussion had to do with how much would it be worth to me (paid in $ off of rent) to drive an elderly man to the grocery store, to doctor appointments, etc. The concept is a good one, having the conversation was not ridiculous. However, when put to me as how much it be worth to me to make a trip, say, to the grocery store to take someone shopping, I had to close my eyes, and respectfully ask that the conversation end.

Writing this small entry has some value in that putting things on "paper" helps me form thoughts and sort through issues. However, I should be hypercritical of the time this is taking at this moment and spend my time elsewhere. 10 minutes longer, then on to the next thing.

The answer to the question: my free time, the time I don't have planned, scheduled or otherwise committed is so small it's worth a premium that isn't payable monetarily.

The answer for anyone else: It doesn't matter what a person's salary is, though a contract employee might be able to point to an hour and say it costs $100 billable to a client. Still, would it be worth $100 or even $500 to lose the last moments of relaxation in a week? It comes down to quantity of free time and how much of it there is. Free time = rejuvenation time. It's the time that allows one to do well in the rest of life. Recharging and resting is as important as pushing forward on whatever it is that one does. It's just like racing. One gets stronger during rest and recovery times, but it's the training that lets the rest feel really good (and make one stronger). No champion has ever been made out of someone who trains continuously and never takes a break. 


In the real world, I'd translate this to working very, very hard and then sleeping a reasonable amount, having some non-pressured waking moments and then working very hard again. This is my ideal that I'm striving for. 

Still looking to find the balance, exactly, but feeling it's a bit better now than a few weeks ago... to be continued, 10 minutes is up and it's time to read something useful.

What's your time worth? Can you put a price on it?