When Can On-Demand Print Save You Time?

You’ve probably told clients and prospects, “Your time is valuable.” But how much is your time worth really? How can we answer this question without a tangible form of measurement? 

There are a lot of resources online that can help you save time, such as Trello, Slack, Asana, and Mimeo. But, lately, there has been a shift to better understanding how much your time is worth, down to the minute. This matters because it allows for more informed purchasing decisions and time allocation. These decisions may not always be so obvious.

When is a task not worth your time ?

Here’s an extreme example: you may have heard the “if Bill Gates dropped a $100 bill” story years ago. The point was that picking up the $100 bill would cause him to lose money. The reasoning?

• Gates makes an estimated $114.16 every second he is alive.
• Even if picking up the bill took 3 seconds, Gates would lose $242.48.
• So, the effort expended on this task would not be worth Gates’ time.

The problem with this conclusion?

• It is only true if Gates would have used those 3 seconds while at work.
• If it replaced a meeting, yes, picking up the bill would cost him money.
• But, what about 3 seconds of sleep? What about 3 seconds spent on interests and the pursuit of happiness?
• These additional aspects need to be incorporated in determining the overall trade off.

How do you calculate how much your time is worth?

Spencer Greenberg, founder of ClearerThinking.org, watched his friend who makes over $100,000 a year “wracking her brain trying to figure out how to use a $20 gift certificate,” he says. “She essentially lost more value just making that decision than the value of the gift certificate.”

This realization prompted Greenberg to create a calculating tool on Clearer Thinking to better determine what trade-offs should be made and when. You simply enter your income, work hours, and respond to questions that determine how and why you value your time. Then, with the results, it calculates the overall consistencies – or inconsistencies- in your decision making.

This tool can be used to figure out the most optimum tradeoffs – allowing you to free up additional time, more adequately delegate specific tasks and responsibilities within your workplace, and begin eliminating those that don’t add value. It also shows how your decision making stacks up to those of other calculator respondents.

How much do you value your time?

The per unit price is not the only factor that should influence purchasing and time allocation decisions. The delegation of your time, and value of it, often outweigh costs that are more obvious in nature. Consider how much time spent with your friends and family is worth, for example. And, what about time spent on hobbies or simply relaxing and reading? Remember these less apparent but extremely beneficial ways you could be using your time when you:

• drive an extra hour to save a few dollars at the cheaper grocery store
• insist on putting together that report yourself, when it could be automated
• contemplate assembling documents at your desk to “cut spending”

Get time back with Mimeo 

Mimeo was created to give people back time. You can upload content to your own digital library and organize files by folders. Want a hard copy printed? Build, proof, and ship in a few minutes. You can even share with other Mimeo users at varying levels of permissions. No order minimums, no commitments, 24/7 support! 

Place a print order for delivery to hundreds of locations with a single click. Instead of sifting through emails and manually checking tracking numbers, easily view and map the status of up to 500 packages at once. What would have once been a massive undertaking is now organized on one screen.

Start saving time and organizing your content with Mimeo (see how it works in the video below!). Whether you want to print a single poster or 1,000 different corporate brochures varying by geographic region or brand, we’ve got you covered. No minimums, real-time pricing. Schedule a free print consultation today!

Now cross a content-related project off of your to do list! And, always remember, your time is valuable.