The valuation of our time, contrary to appearances, is not such a simple matter. We all want companies or customers to pay us as much as possible. How can we achieve this if we ourselves do not know how much our time is worth?

Exactly. Can you answer the following question for me?

How much is an hour of your time worth?

Remember, I’m not asking you how much your employer is offering you right now. I would like you to write on a piece of paper the amount you would give someone if they wanted to hire you for an hour’s work?

Perhaps you are a graphic designer, photographer, songwriter, salesperson. Enter a specific amount reflecting the value of one hour of youru Database mu work.

Ready? That’s great…

When I ask the same question to students and parttimpants of my training, most people have a serious problem with it.

If you immediately wrote a specific amount on a piece of paper, you belong to the minority.

The most common answers are:

• “I don’t know”
• “my time is priceless”
• “as much as my employer pays me per hour”

The first two answers mean exactly the same – When someone asks you for a specific price, you will not be able to answer them.

The third answer is also tricky. During one of m Singapore Lead y lectures, I asked extramural students how much they value this particular hour when they listen to me. One of the students replied “150 zlotys, because that’s what I have in the company”.

The problem in this case is that the classes were on a Saturday and her company only pays her Monday to Friday. So we can assume that this hour on Saturday morning was worth round “0”. And here comes the problem.