One of my favorite programming adages is Hofstadter’s Law:
Hofstadter’s Law: It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter’s Law.
I have my own version of this brewing, related to free time. We can call it Zue’s Law:
Zue’s Law: Having free time is always more valuable than you expect, even when you take into account Zue’s Law.
Every July, I—with my wife and our two boys—escape the winter of Cape Town,
and spend a month or two in the northern hemisphere’s summer, visiting with friends and family.
That I am able to do this with virtually no impact on my income, customers’ satisfaction, or any other
obvious professional metric of success is by far the best outcome of becoming a solopreneur.
Most people invest deeply in their work for a small set of reasons: money, status, mission, or duty.
I work mostly for time.
Summer vacation is a big paycheck, but it’s not the only one.
I pay myself every time I go surfing in the middle of the work day, take a day off to climb a mountain,
or spend a morning writing instead of coding.
I don’t really understand why more people don’t work for time.
People get pay raises all the time, but almost never ask to work fewer hours instead—even when they don’t need the extra money.
It’s commonly said that money doesn’t buy happiness, but time can come pretty close.
Having time means more opportunities to recharge, take care of yourself, and invest in relationships.
It also means less background stress, and fewer arguments with your partner about whose turn it is to watch the kids.
Time may not make happiness, but it can definitely make happiness easier.
Money of course solves some problems—and there is a threshold below which not having enough money is often life’s biggest problem.
Beyond that threshold, though, more problems are caused by not having enough time.
Getting out of shape. Having a bitter spouse. Losing touch with friends. Not getting enough sleep.
So how do you get more time?
I’ve extensively documented how I did it.
But mostly it involves working backwards: making time a priority and then finding a way to create more if it
(while still meeting the other constraints in your life).
Practically, this usually means taking a paycut—or figuring out how to be paid more per hour—then figuring out how to grow passive income.
It’s not easy, but the hardest part is often mentally committing to trying.
And what do you give up by seeking out more time?
Mostly, those other things people prioritize: money, status, mission, and duty.
But these sacrifices can be temporary.
I currently earn more money and have more time than I have at any other point in my career.
That said—if you want to be very rich, important, or impactful, you will probably have to live with being time-poor.
But if you’re not sure?
If you’re currently working long hours for money or status you don’t need, or in service of a cause that isn’t your life’s mission.
Perhaps, then, take a moment to ask yourself: Are these things more important than my time?
What would happen if instead you got your evenings back or asked for Fridays off?
You might find that wealth in time is more valuable than wealth in any other form.