Sure, time is money, but how often do you quantify how valuable your time really is? How often are you sacrificing incredible opportunities for yourself instead of leveraging your resources to free up your time and expand the possibilities available to you?
I want to tell you a story. It’s about a realization I had about a team member of ours who is a total badass. But it’s also about all of you badasses out there who are reading this right now. This story begins with a little editorialization from me, or rather, a wish that I have for all of you: I want you to stop wasting your time. Seriously. Stop. Your time is valuable. You are valuable. And all too often you’re giving yourselves over to things that aren’t.
Back to that story. Not too long ago, before one of our 10X Owners Live events, I was having a conversation with a teammate of mine, discussing the event that was about to happen. In the middle of this conversation, she shared with me that part of her to-do list for the evening was 3 hours’ worth of laundry. And it struck me: this doesn’t add up.
This woman is a top-performer, absolutely crushing it in her new role, making more money than ever, and the thing that is top of mind to her in that moment… was a pile of laundry? That’s where her emotional labor was going to. And I just couldn’t accept that for her. So I asked her, “Have you ever thought about hiring a cleaner?”
Seriously, who wants to expel so much mental energy about their laundry when doing your laundry isn’t really something that’s helped you achieve your goals? If you could spend a little bit of money on something that saved you that much mental space and time, wouldn’t it be worth it?
There’s so much monotony in the daily tasks of adult life. I want you to have more time to do the things that you need to do in order for you to be successful, so I’ve compiled a list of all things you need to stop doing in order to stop wasting your time. You and your goals are worth the investment in your own time and energy and mental clarity.
And listen, I’m not suggesting you stop doing these things so that you can catch up on the latest season of Real Housewives. I’m saying you should consider making these investments because you’re forward-investing in your future. This is to free up your time to write that book that you’ve always wanted to, so you can focus on serving your clients, so that you can spend more time on doing the things that drive you closer and closer to achieving your personal, professional, and financial goals. That’s the point, because your goals should be the reason that you’re getting up each and every day, not that pile of laundry.
Things you need to stop doing right now
Laundry and House Cleaning
For a few hundred dollars a month, you can hire someone who does this professionally. They’ll do a better job than you, and they’ll take care of all the details that are likely already stressing you out. In the abstract, laundry is simple. Just throw it in the washer. But it is more complicated than that, isn’t it? Between the separating, and the drying, folding, ironing, and putting everything away, wouldn’t it be worth having a professional laundry and cleaning service?
Cooking
Listen, I know some of you out there love to cook. If this is a passion of yours and you derive pleasure from it, then, by all means, don’t stop, but if it’s a chore for you, you don’t enjoy it, and it’s taking up too much of your time, then why wouldn’t you consider investing in the ever-growing number of home-delivery or premade meal-kit services that are out there? It takes so much thought and time and energy to make three square meals a day. Offset that labor to someone else.
Organizing
I do not derive joy from this. At all. Add this into your home cleaner’s routine, where every few months, they help you organize your garage, or those other areas of the house that need a different sort of attention then what’s needed in a regular cleaning session. These folks are professionals. Let them take this off of your list.
Driving
This, of course, depends on where you live, but with the advent of Uber and Lyft, Brandon and I are able to get so much more business done. Driving, especially in cities, can be really stressful. We travel all of the time. We’d rather expel our precious energy on taking advantage of more opportunities while relying on the experts to get us where we need to go. Any opportunity that gives you more time to do more things is a win in my book.
Administrative tasks
This is something that I’m still getting used to, and I love it. You should hire personal administrative assistants to help you with things like picking up and dropping off packages, responding to emails, sending thank you’s, making store returns, helping you wrap gifts — all those little things that end up taking up big chunks of your time. Seek out help. It will change your life.
The bottom line: You are worth it!
There’s nothing inherently wrong with doing any of these things, of course, but if they’re taking up your time that could be better used toward helping you achieve your goals, then, please, I beg of you, consider investing in yourself by seeing your time as having the same value as money.
Our goal at Cardone Ventures is to help people achieve their personal, professional, and financial goals, and sometimes that means removing yourself from the rat race, forward investing in yourself, and creating the space that makes it all possible. If it leads to bigger, better things, then it wasn’t really a sacrifice at all. It means you were funding your future.
There’s so much more we can accomplish together! If you want to be a part of a group that takes their goals seriously, join us for 10XOwners Live every Tuesday at 5 Pacific.
Go to CardoneVentures.com/live NOW to register and be a part of this amazing group of entrepreneurs!