Is a Day for Pay a Fair Exchange?

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Unless you have already struck the balance of only doing work you love to do (and where getting paid for those hours is simply a bonus), you'll need to make sure you get something out of each day you trade off: something just for you. Here are some ideas for finding opportunities and creating experiences in each day to make the trade-off worthwhile.

• One answer lies at www.365grateful.com  Being grateful for small moments suggests that a day of your life may be worth more than its face value. That day may provide a moment you can genuinely say ‘thank you' for in which case it is priceless. Or it may provide an idea that goes on to fulfil a lifelong dream, making its dollar value totally irrelevant. If the opportunities provided by an experience you have in that day have greater value than the income earned, you're ahead.

• You'd like to hope that by selling off the day's hours you are at least doing something you enjoy for the transaction; but not every hour is uplifting. Filling out the BAS statement each quarter is simply time lost.   As one friend recently put it ‘By the time I've finished the report I've lost the will to live!' But these moments are balanced out by the days engrossed in a new idea or project where the hours simply don't matter. If you'd give your time away free for the sheer enjoyment of doing something you love to do, you're ahead.

• I'm curious about many things so I look for opportunities to teach something that broadens my skill base. The saying ‘the person doing the talking does the learning' is true in all training situations. Whilst I structure my courses so the participants do most of the talking, I learn something every course I teach. Learning makes the trade-off worthwhile and puts me ahead. Where in your day can you learn about something that stimulates your curiosity?

• I'm a shameless experiential learner and I love to try out new experiences or projects for the possibilities they offer. Attending a workshop on a topic of interest, networking to find out what others are doing, putting articles that spark my interest on this website or in my ‘next idea' file are some ways I increase my experience quota each day. When I add experiences to each day, I feel I'm ahead. Where can you increase your experience quota and make each day more worthwhile?

• Work that is meaningful takes on ever more importance as I grow up. I do projects with the not-for-profit sector because the story has meaning. I want to be part of this story by contributing what I have to offer and expanding on what they offer. Together we do great things and I feel I get more value by selling that day. What meaning does the story you are working on have? Where can you contribute to make a story better than it was before you joined in the discussion?

• I started this article by referencing Seth Godin and I'll finish with a reference to his new book ‘Poke the Box'. If you are still unsure whether the pay you receive is worth the value of a day, poke the box and find out. Sitting and wondering if you can feel more fulfilled won't make it happen. Poke that box. See what is inside. You might surprise yourself or you might already know but nothing will change without you investigating further. Questioning the things we take for granted every day is the best way to find new answers.

Love your experiences
Irene