{"id":31604,"date":"2026-09-01T09:26:30","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T08:26:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.peopleperhour.com\/discover\/?post_type=guides&#038;p=31604"},"modified":"2026-08-31T09:53:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T08:53:35","slug":"the-20-task-that-could-save-you-5-hours-how-to-decide-what-your-time-is-really-worth","status":"publish","type":"guides","link":"https:\/\/www.peopleperhour.com\/discover\/guides\/the-20-task-that-could-save-you-5-hours-how-to-decide-what-your-time-is-really-worth\/","title":{"rendered":"The \u00a320 Task That Could Save You 5 Hours: How to Decide What Your Time Is Really Worth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Doing it yourself is free. Or at least, that&#8217;s what we tell ourselves. When you&#8217;re running a small business, spending \u00a350, \u00a3100 or \u00a3200 hiring someone to complete a task can feel difficult to justify when you could technically do it yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Why pay a graphic designer when you could open Canva?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Why hire someone to update your website when you could spend an evening figuring it out?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Why pay a virtual assistant to research potential customers when you could work through the list yourself?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The problem is that your time isn&#8217;t free. And once you start putting a value on the hours you spend running your business, outsourcing certain tasks to freelancers can suddenly look very different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-the-real-cost-of-doing-something-yourself\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Real Cost of Doing Something Yourself<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Imagine you need to make a relatively simple change to your website. You&#8217;ve never done it before, but there are tutorials online. How difficult can it be? You spend 30 minutes finding the right tutorial. Another hour trying to understand your website. Then something doesn&#8217;t work. You Google the problem. Watch another video. Try something else. Eventually, three hours later, you&#8217;ve made the change. Cost to your business?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u00a30.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Except it wasn&#8217;t really \u00a30. Those were three hours you couldn&#8217;t spend speaking to customers, generating new business, improving your product, managing your team or doing whatever it is that actually makes your business money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That&#8217;s called <strong>opportunity cost<\/strong>, and it&#8217;s something every business owner should consider before deciding to do a task themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-what-is-your-time-actually-worth\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Is Your Time Actually Worth?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You don&#8217;t need an economist and a complicated spreadsheet to work this out. Start with a rough estimate of what an hour of your productive working time is worth to your business. Then use a very simple calculation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Value of your time \u00d7 hours required = approximate DIY cost<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let&#8217;s say you value an hour of your time at \u00a350. You have a task that will probably take you four hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u00a350 \u00d7 4 = \u00a3200.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If an experienced freelancer could complete the same task for \u00a380, suddenly paying somebody \u00a380 doesn&#8217;t look like an expense. It potentially looks like buying four hours of your time back for \u00a320 an hour. And what could you do with those four hours? That&#8217;s the question that matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-being-able-to-do-something-doesn-t-mean-you-should\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Being Able to Do Something Doesn&#8217;t Mean You Should<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is particularly difficult for entrepreneurs. Running a business tends to make you remarkably resourceful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You learn how to update websites, create invoices, edit videos, write marketing emails, troubleshoot software, design graphics, manage spreadsheets and fix dozens of other problems you never imagined would become part of your job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There&#8217;s genuine value in that. But there&#8217;s also a trap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>You become capable of doing so many things that you assume you should continue doing all of them.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The question shouldn&#8217;t always be:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>&#8220;Can I do this?&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Try asking:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>&#8220;Is this the best use of my time?&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is a significant difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-look-for-your-20-tasks\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Look for Your \u00a320 Tasks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Somewhere in your working week, there are probably tasks you&#8217;re doing simply because you&#8217;ve always done them. Perhaps you&#8217;re manually entering information into spreadsheets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Maybe you&#8217;re formatting documents, resizing images, researching contact details, uploading products, editing short videos, creating presentations or fixing small problems on your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Individually, they don&#8217;t seem particularly significant. That&#8217;s partly why they remain on your to-do list. But add up the hours over a month and the picture can look very different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two hours here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An afternoon there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Twenty minutes every morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before long, a significant percentage of your working week is being consumed by jobs that don&#8217;t actually require <strong>you<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many of these tasks can be completed by freelancers relatively inexpensively, particularly when you&#8217;re hiring someone who already knows exactly what they&#8217;re doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can browse <a href=\"https:\/\/www.peopleperhour.com\/hire-freelancers\">freelancers across hundreds of different skills on PeoplePerHour<\/a>, from administration and design to marketing, development, writing and business support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-don-t-forget-the-learning-curve\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Don&#8217;t Forget the Learning Curve<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There&#8217;s another factor that&#8217;s easy to overlook when comparing DIY with outsourcing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Experience makes people faster.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A task that takes you four hours might take an experienced freelancer 45 minutes. Not because they&#8217;re rushing it. Because they&#8217;ve probably done it hundreds of times before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Think about something you&#8217;re particularly good at within your own business. A customer might spend hours attempting it themselves, while you immediately know what needs to be done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Freelancers are no different. When you hire a specialist, you&#8217;re not simply paying for their time. You&#8217;re paying for the years they&#8217;ve spent learning how to complete the task efficiently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That changes the maths considerably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-the-100-freelancer-could-be-cheaper-than-the-30-freelancer\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The \u00a3100 Freelancer Could Be Cheaper Than the \u00a330 Freelancer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once you start thinking about the value of time, there&#8217;s another interesting lesson. The cheapest freelancer isn&#8217;t necessarily the cheapest option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Imagine Freelancer A charges \u00a330 but requires extensive instructions, several rounds of corrections and regular communication. Freelancer B charges \u00a3100, understands the brief immediately and delivers exactly what you need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Which one actually cost your business less?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Price matters, particularly when you&#8217;re running a small business with limited resources. But it shouldn&#8217;t be considered in isolation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Think about the complete cost of getting the job finished, including <strong>your own involvement<\/strong>. Sometimes paying more for an experienced specialist saves money because they require far less of your time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-what-should-you-be-outsourcing\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Should You Be Outsourcing?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A useful place to start is with tasks that meet one or more of these criteria:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>They take up a disproportionate amount of your time.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Someone else could complete them considerably faster.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They require specialist knowledge you don&#8217;t possess.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They need doing regularly but don&#8217;t require your personal input.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You repeatedly postpone them because you don&#8217;t enjoy doing them.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They distract you from higher-value work.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The consequences of doing them badly could cost more than hiring an expert.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That doesn&#8217;t mean you need to immediately outsource half your business. Start small. Choose one task. Hire someone to complete it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">See whether getting those hours back makes a meaningful difference to your working week. If it does, look for the next one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-when-doing-it-yourself-does-make-sense\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">When Doing It Yourself DOES Make Sense<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Outsourcing isn&#8217;t automatically the answer to everything. Sometimes doing a task yourself makes perfect business sense. Perhaps you enjoy doing it. Maybe it&#8217;s an important skill you want to develop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The task might be so closely connected to your customers that you don&#8217;t want somebody else handling it. Or perhaps outsourcing it would take longer than simply getting it done yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There&#8217;s also the financial reality of running a business. If cash flow is tight and you have spare capacity, spending your own time may genuinely be the better option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The point isn&#8217;t that business owners should outsource everything. It&#8217;s that <strong>&#8220;I can do it myself&#8221; shouldn&#8217;t be the end of the calculation.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-think-about-what-only-you-can-do\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Think About What Only You Can Do<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here&#8217;s another way to approach your to-do list. Ask yourself:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What are the things in this business that genuinely require me?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Perhaps you&#8217;re the person who needs to build relationships with important clients. Maybe you&#8217;re responsible for developing the product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Perhaps nobody understands your customers quite like you do. You might be the person who needs to make strategic decisions, win new business, negotiate partnerships or lead your team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whatever those activities are, they&#8217;re probably considerably more valuable than spending Tuesday afternoon trying to understand why a WordPress plugin has stopped working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The more time you spend on tasks somebody else could do, the less time you have for the things only you can do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-build-your-own-flexible-team\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Build Your Own Flexible Team<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of the biggest advantages of hiring freelancers is that outsourcing doesn&#8217;t necessarily mean employing somebody permanently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You might need a designer for three hours.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A developer for one project.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A virtual assistant for a particularly busy month.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A copywriter for your new website.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>An SEO specialist to audit your site.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A video editor whenever you&#8217;ve filmed enough content.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That flexibility allows small businesses to access specialist expertise when they need it without necessarily adding permanent salaries to their overheads. And over time, you can build your own network of trusted freelancers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The designer who already understands your branding. The developer who knows your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The writer who understands your tone of voice. The virtual assistant who knows how you like things organised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The more they understand your business, the less time you need to spend briefing them and the more valuable those relationships become.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-start-buying-back-your-time\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Start Buying Back Your Time<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There&#8217;s a good chance you have something on your to-do list right now that you&#8217;ve been meaning to tackle for weeks. Before automatically deciding to do it yourself, try doing the maths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>How long will it realistically take you?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What is that time worth?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Could somebody with more experience do it faster?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And, most importantly:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What could you accomplish if those hours were given back to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Search <a href=\"https:\/\/www.peopleperhour.com\/hire-freelancers\">PeoplePerHour<\/a> and see what it would cost to hand the task to someone who does it every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You might discover that the freelancer isn&#8217;t costing your business money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They&#8217;re giving you something considerably more valuable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Your time back.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Doing it yourself is free. Or at least, that&#8217;s what we tell ourselves. When you&#8217;re running a small business, spending \u00a350, \u00a3100 or \u00a3200 hiring someone to complete a task can feel difficult to justify when you could technically do it yourself. The problem is that your time isn&#8217;t free. And once you start putting [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":31605,"template":"","guides_categories":[],"class_list":["post-31604","guides","type-guides","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.6 (Yoast SEO v28.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to Decide What Your Time Is Really Worth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover when to outsource business tasks, calculate the true cost of doing everything and how freelancers can help you buy back time.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peopleperhour.com\/discover\/guides\/the-20-task-that-could-save-you-5-hours-how-to-decide-what-your-time-is-really-worth\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta 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