Why My Employer Should Pay For My iPad
August 29, 2012Yes, it’s true. I’ve finally come over to the dark side and purchased an iPad. One of the reasons it has taken me so long is because of how expensive they are. That said, I think I have discovered a way to justify the expense. One of the biggest hang ups I have about blogging is the amount of time I spend writing them. I’m a little slow at typing, so it usually takes me several hours a week to push one out, but with the help of my new iPad, I’ve figured out a way to do the same amount of work in about half the time. Here’s how it works.
The iPad has a feature that allows me to talk into a microphone while it dictates my words. Now, I realize this is not something new, but I’ve never done that before—until now. Well that’s great, Greg, but how does that help you to justify purchasing a $600 item? I’m glad you asked.
If I spend 2 hours a week writing a blog post, and I write 50 posts a year, then using simple math it would cost me 100 hours a year of my time. If my time is worth $45 an hour (I’ll explain later), then writing blogs is a $4,500 a year cost to the company, but if using my iPad saves me 50 hours a year, that translates into saving the company $2,250 in productivity cost. Do you see where I’m going with this? By freeing up that one hour a week, I’m able to spend that additional 50 hours a year somewhere else.
This concept can be used in other areas of your life as well. For instance, before I begin a home improvement project, one of the first questions I ask is “how long will this take me, and could I pay someone else to do it for less?” To answer this question, I must determine how much my time is worth. Here’s how:
Take your annual income, and divide it by the number of hours you work to derive that income. For example, if you earn $60,000 a year, and work eight hours a day for five days a week for 50 weeks a year, then you would simply divide $60,000 by 2,000 hours, and come up with $30 an hour.
So at $30 an hour, if you’re looking at a project that is going to take you 10 hours to complete, could you pay someone else $300 or less to do the job for you? Even if it’s a little more expensive, it still may be worth it, because they can probably do it faster and better, and you won’t have to rent or purchase equipment.
Whether it’s hours spent on a home improvement project or hours spent on the job, your time is valuable. Anything that helps you save time, in essence, helps you save money. Now, if only I can get the boss to see it that way…