Do you have the time to start something new?

This is a guest post by Chris Schmitt of Teamcamp.ca

Believe it or not, there are only 24 hours in a day and 168 hours in a week. You should make sure you have the time to start a new business, or a user group, or a new hobby, or a tribe, or anything that’s “new” and you’re passionate about.

Last weekend I went through a very simple exercise to make sure I really had the time to work on my project. I made a list of all the important things that I need to allocate my time to: work, sleep, family, friends, chores, travel time, learning, rest and relaxation, meals, exercise, commuting etc. I concluded that I had 10 hours per week to spend on my project. I’ve been using Bubbletimer to test my assumptions.

Is ten hours a week enough time to start something new? David Heinemeier Hansson created Basecamp in 10 hours per week, and by the way, he also created the Ruby on Rails framework at the same time. Believe me, 10 hours per week is a lot if you’re focused.

There’s also “hidden time”. I plan and strategize while I run; I catch up on reading while I’m sitting on the bus; I listen to audio books; I listen to music or catch up on important family time while I’m in the car; I catch up on work while waiting in the airport terminal.

What if you’re on a team with 3 others and everyone is spending 10 hours a week on a project? That’s 40 hours per week – the equivalent of a full time employee. Actually, if you think about it it’s really more than the equivalent of a full time employee.

Your circumstances may be different. You may be a full time student. You may be starting a family. You may have a 60-hour work week. You may have other more important priorities.

Just trust me, go through this simple exercise: do you have 10 hours per week to do something that you are passionate about?

          By: Chris Schmitt

 

 

 

By Scott Lake