Optimising for Money/Time Ratio

The ultimate new goal of same money, less time

I've resigned from my job and cannot wait to be autonomous again in this world to plot and walk my own path. In this post I'm going to tell you what I've been saying to people who ask me, "so what are you going to do now, Nick?"

To the first few who asked, I explained that I'll be working on a YouTube channel and a SaaS (software as a service) business. To the later ones who also asked me this question, I've developed a more refined, zoomed out answer.

I stopped saying YouTube and SaaS, and started saying that my ultimate goal – what I decided to quit my lucrative software engineering job for – is to be able to earn the same money with less time.

This is one among many reasons that I jotted in my journal as I was contemplating quitting my job at 35, but it didn't stand out as the ultimate goal until I found myself wanting to explain to friends what I've done and why I've done it.

But this is truly my ultimate goal for the rest of my 30s, perhaps even 40s. I want to earn the same money that I'm already earning now (it's good money), but earning it with less time invested on average per week.

Why? I mean, so many why questions naturally spring up:

1. Why not pursue, like everyone else, more money in the same time? Isn't that equivalent?

2. What do I need more time for?

3. Why index on money/time ratio?

What's not in that list is also telling. You and I understand intuitively why I won't be able to achieve this if I remain employed by a company. The only way to make that a reality is to build my own business where the spoils are mine (and the government's through taxes, I guess).

So let's get around to answering those 3 questions.

Question 1:

Why not pursue, like everyone else, more money in the same time? Isn't that equivalent?

No, they're greatly different even through it's not obvious.

This is what's the same: whether if you earn more in the same time, or earn the same in less time, you're increasing your money/time ratio.

For example, I was earning 100k EUR per year as a software engineer when I quit. Assume I worked 40 hours a week. If I accepted a new job that paid me 125k EUR per year, assuming I'd be working the same hours, my money/time ratio would have increased by 25%.

If instead I kept earning 100k EUR per year but worked only 4 days a week, my money/time ratio would have also increased by 25%.

In this sense they're the same. But you're probably seeing the difference already, right? If not, here it is:

• If I earn 125k with same time, I have €520 more money every week to spend.

• If I earn 100k with less time, I have 1 extra day every week.

Both are identical magnitude improvements in money/time ratio, but one affords me more time, the other affords me more spending power.

Which is more important to me as a dad, husband, son, friend, and human being?

This is saying nothing to the effect of being paid more, which usually comes with more expectations, which means more stress. And chasing that pay bump would have also been a source of stress, not of the good kind where you feel like you are in control (your manager's ego is).

Question 2:

What do I need more time for?

Time is the only truly scarce resource we have.

I need more time so I miss fewer moments in my child's childhood.

I need more time so I can experience more things with my wife as we grow a few more strands of white hair.

I need more time so I can constantly re-calibrate myself, improve myself, and be a better friend to the handful of friends I keep, by reading more, meditating more, exercising more, journaling more, teaching more, and sharing more.

Question 3:

Why index on money/TIME ratio?

This one's easy. No, literally, because this one's easy. Simple metrics are usually the best, because they're easy to remember and they are usually drilling down to the core of what matters.

But as I illustrated earlier, it's important to remember to index on the TIME part of the equation and fix the money part, not the other way around, which is what everyone is typically doing. Most rich people end up not having much time or mental bandwidth to do anything at all with that money.

This, I admit, is simpler said than done. When I have a profitable business, why would I not want more money if it's a matter of working just a little more for just a little while, and further improve that money/TIME ratio? I don't know. I'll probably be tempted. But I'll tell you whether I'll actually cross that bridge when we come to it.

It's a long way from here to earning 100k EUR. I'll bring you along the journey through this substack, so subscribe if you haven’t already.

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P.S.

Hello again existing subscribers, it’s been some months. Here’s a picture of me outside the office for immigration taken minutes after I’ve held my German PR card for the first time. Why is this relevant? Because, well, I thought you might be happy to see a smile that wide, which appeared on my face because this card is what is allowing me to finally quit my job and start my own business as a foreigner here.

P.P.S.

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