Time is a luxury few of us have enough of… and even fewer who can afford.
All of us are forced to make sacrifices with our time.
And when it comes to work, the biggest sacrifice we make is spending time away from our family and friends.
It’s an age-old dilemma…
If you work more hours (especially if paid hourly), you earn more money. But the downside is, that’s more time spent away from your loved ones.
But I want to show you seemingly small changes can have potentially large impacts. And how just an extra hour per day could change your life for the better.
When Hard Work is Only the Beginning
Back in the days before my financial career, I was a coffee jockey (a barista), a gas station attendant, a waiter and a landscaper.
They’re all jobs that are difficult and draining in their own rights. If it wasn’t back-breaking labor in the hot sun, it was working in hot kitchens or garages, dealing with too many customers that were hot under the collar about something that had nothing to do with you… but you were forced to feel the brunt of their frustrations.
Back in those days, hours meant everything.
For example, let’s say you work 35 hours per week making $15 per hour. That means you make $525 per week (before taxes), or $27,300 per year.
If you bump that up to 40 hours per week (just one extra hour per day), your wages increase to $600 per week, or $30,000 per year.
And if you worked 45 hour per week (only two extra hours per day), your wages grow to $675 per week, $35,100 per year.
Now, you may think once you’re salaried those extra hours no longer matter… but not true.
A study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that people who worked an extended workweek earned as much as 55% more than their peers.
That included hourly and salaried employees.
But here’s the thing… We want to work smarter, not just harder. Because that’s where the real gains are made.
Five Hours to Financial Freedom
I believe in the “Five-Hour Rule.”
This is a very simple rule practiced by Bill Gates, Jack Ma, Oprah Winfrey, Mark Zuckerberg, and a host of other highly successful people. And, as I said, this is one I use myself.
It helps transform ordinary people into successful ones.
What you do is dedicate one hour every single day to deliberate learning.
A mere five hours per week.
This can include reading (my favorite), testing out new ideas, taking an online class and even simply reflecting. That’s right, just staring blankly at a wall lost in thought.
The goal is to spend one continuous hour focusing on improving yourself and your skillset. And doing this outside of work.
At first, it’s going to seem difficult.
I know you’re already thinking, “Where am I going to find the time?”
Again, time always feels like a luxury that few of us have and can afford.
But you know the ebbs and flows of your day. And you probably recognize when you can begin to squeeze this in.
For me, it’s early in the morning.
And by “early,” I mean the before the sun is even up and the earliest of birds haven’t gotten out of bed yet.
This is when the world is peacefully calm (it’s just me and my dogs and a pot of coffee)…
There are no distractions from work email or phone calls. There’s nothing good on TV. The only potential intrusion are those designed-to-be-addictive short videos squawking from your phone.
So, this is the time I set aside for myself.
I can sit and drink coffee and read in peace. I will take online classes. I will try to master a new programming skill (which there always seems to be a new one in demand). I will read my competitors’ marketing materials or investing strategies, learning what is and isn’t working for them.
I can take an hour to feed my mind and my soul… and more often than not, it’s in that period of the day I unearth my best and most profitable ideas.
In the beginning, it will be hard.
Start with 15 or 20 minutes at first. Maybe right after lunch, where there’s the potential for a slump to seep in.
But by the second week, I’ve found it’s habit.
From then it’ll become an integral part of your schedule. A time slot dedicated to learning new things, relaxing, and learning things about yourself.
And I bet like me, it’ll become your favorite time of day.
Those five hours will transform your life and ultimately lead to higher pay and a happier existence. Our time on this world is fleeting… the goal is to spend as much of it how you want, not have that dictated to you by others. And to do that, you first have to start carving out the time for yourself and for your financial future.
Reading before the rooster crows,
Matthew
