I’m currently working odd jobs on an on-call/contract basis, and, to keep track of my hours, I downloaded On the Job. It’s fun to watch my paycheck increase as I’m working on projects, but I feel guilty every time I stop the clock so that I can check my google reader or walk across the street to satisfy my need for diet coke. Yesterday, I added a new, $25/hour task called “Wasting Time.” Now, whenever I stop working and begin procrastinating, I keep track of how much money I’m losing.

Yes, seeing that I just wasted $43.62 encourages me to take fewer breaks (even if Sarah is working one floor upstairs and I’d like to share a tasty cupcake with her). But it also encourages me to make the most of my free time. If my time is worth $25/hour working, it’s also worth $25/hour when I’m watching television or puttering around the interwebs. Is it really worth my time to play Call of Duty 4 with my friends on XBox Live? Absolutely — I don’t always get to see my friends in person, so it’s a way to reconnect with them. Is it worth my time to watch a rerun of Law and Order? Probably not.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 4th, 2008 at 8:52 pm and is filed under Working. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.