Value of time

Its easy to get caught up in the scheduling of things, making lists and checking it twice. Heaven forbid that there be a blank time slot on your calendar. It absolutely must be filled with something otherwise we're just not busy enough by today's standards. Then there is that ever growing "To do list".  I know people who live by their "To do list" and all you ever hear about it is "I'm so busy, I have so much to do." Busy, busy people.

I was recently out buying a bike for my child.  After what felt like hours of her "testing" four different bikes, a decision was finally made. YAY! As I took the tag to the register I notice that it was 20% off. Double YAY!  In small print there is another price that indicates "assembled". Oh, right. I forgot buying bikes at Toys R Us requires assembly. In fact I think most toddler bikes require assembly as I think back on my child's other bike. I remember looking at the box for days because I didnt want to spend the time pulling out all the pieces are going through the "quick assemble" manual. The additional charge was ten dollars.  I know there are some people out there who are thinking, "Ten dollars?! I can do it myself."  Thats fine, if that is your choice. For me, I dont have the patience to lay out the parts, figure out what goes where, bolt them down and also have to discard the box.

So what is my point? The value of time. I would rather pay someone the extra money and give myself that free time to do other things. So you can look at it a few ways:
"My time is worth paying the extra money to have someone else take care of this for me."
"I'd rather save my money and do it myself ."

Which one feels good to you? What are the things you do to free up time during your day to do something that is more enjoyable or relaxing? What are the things you could do to free up some time?

Next time you see a blank hour, half hour or even fifteen block on your calendar schedule something like "ME" or "Free" and set that reminder so that you dont forget.  Remember that TIME is the one thing that you can not get back, replace or do over.