Are You Spending Your Time on $25 or $5,000 Activities?
Most professionals have no idea what their time is actually worth. They fill their days with $25/hour administrative tasks while neglecting the $5,000/hour strategic work that could transform their business.
With help from a few colleagues and inspired by Rob Slee, I created this Hourly Rate Calculator Tool after working with hundreds of executives and business owners who struggled to prioritize their time effectively. They were busy—sometimes working 60+ hours a week—but not seeing the financial returns their expertise should command.
How This Calculator Changes Your Workday
This tool helps you:
- See the hidden value disparity in your activities – Discover which tasks generate $25/hour vs. which generate $5,000/hour
- Track where your time actually goes – Compare your current time allocation with your target distribution
- Make data-driven decisions about delegation – Identify which low-value activities to eliminate, automate, or delegate
- Quantify the real cost of distractions – Calculate exactly what it costs when you get pulled into low-value work
The Value Hierarchy Explained
I’ve categorized common professional activities by their typical value creation:
- $25/hour activities: Administrative tasks anyone could do (expense reports, scheduling, data entry)
- $50/hour activities: Standard operational work (email, attending internal meetings, basic troubleshooting)
- $100/hour activities: Skilled professional work (writing proposals, managing projects, creating content)
- $500/hour activities: High-leverage client/partner interactions and team development
- $2,500/hour activities: Strategic thinking and innovation that creates new business possibilities
- $5,000/hour activities: Transformative work that redefines your business model or market position
How to Use This Tool
- Fill in the “Hours Spent Per Week Today” column with your current time allocation
- Set targets in the “Hours Spent Per Week Target” column
- The calculator will automatically show you your current and potential hourly value rate
Most executives are shocked to discover their effective hourly rate is often 50-80% lower than it could be simply because of how they allocate their time.
Try this calculator today to see where your highest-value opportunities are hiding in plain sight.