Jan 07, 2016 Written by Guest
There are many great things about being an entrepreneur... and a few not so great things. One of the biggest challenges I find is getting away for a real vacation. I'm not talking about the trip where you bring along your laptop take conference calls and try to squeeze in family time. I'm talking about really disconnecting from your business. With my previous business I waited five years to take a full no-computer vacation. No surprise it was great, not only for me, but also for my staff.
It becomes a win-win for everyone when you disconnect. For your employees it shows a level of trust that you are confident enough that they can keep the business running while you are away. You get to finally unwind. As an entrepreneur, even when you are not working , you are working, you just keeping thinking of what you can do next. Vacations that exclude being connected to electronics can really give you time to connect with family and friends.
It becomes a win-win for everyone when you disconnect. For your employees it shows a level of trust that you are confident enough that they can keep the business running while you are away. You get to finally unwind. As an entrepreneur, even when you are not working , you are working, you just keeping thinking of what you can do next. Vacations that exclude being connected to electronics can really give you time to connect with family and friends.
With two teenagers (well, one teenager and one preteen who thinks she's a teenager), finding time when they are not attached to an electronic device may be even more difficult than finding me not working. Over the holiday my family went on a cruise. It was a lovely time to hang out without thinking and discussing work, school and the to-dos on our list. For one week the 'real world' disappeared and it was just a carefree time.
Today, the University of British Columbia published an online report in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science on the value of time versus money.
In six studies with more than 4,600 participants, researchers found an almost even split between people who tended to value their time or money , and that choice was a fairly consistent trait both for daily interactions and major life events.
"It appears that people have a stable preference for valuing their time over making more money, and prioritizing time is associated with greater happiness," said lead researcher Ashley Whillans, a doctoral student in social psychology at the University of British Columbia. The findings were published online in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.
The researchers found an almost even split with slightly more than half of the participants stating they prioritized their time more than money. Older people also were more likely to say they valued their time compared to younger people.
"As people age, they often want to spend time in more meaningful ways than just making money," Whillans said.
The researchers conducted separate surveys with a nationally representative sample of Americans, students at the University of British Columbia, and adult visitors of a science museum in Vancouver. Some of the studies used real-world examples, such as asking a participant whether he would prefer a more expensive apartment with a short commute or a less expensive apartment with a long commute. A participant also could choose between a graduate program that would lead to a job with long hours and a higher starting salary or a program that would result in a job with a lower salary but fewer hours.
A participant's gender or income didn't affect whether they were more likely to value time or money, although the study didn't include participants living at the poverty level who may have to prioritize money to survive.
If people want to focus more on their time and less on money in their lives, they could take some actions to help shift their perspective, such as working slightly fewer hours, paying someone to do disliked chores like cleaning the house, or volunteering with a charity. While some options might be available only for people with disposable income, even small changes could make a big difference, Whillans said.
"Having more free time is likely more important for happiness than having more money," she said. "Even giving up a few hours of a paycheck to volunteer at a food bank may have more bang for your buck in making you feel happier."
For most of us we need to work to make money to live and play. And for many of us, we love what we do. If this business went away we would just create another. However, money is not everything and as the old expression goes, "Money cannot buy happiness."
For me it is important to work hard and love my job, but it is absolutely wonderful when I can take a break and send some time focused on what matters most in my live, my family.
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