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I spent Friday working on my CV, a harrowing experience that sent me right over the edge. Well, maybe it wasn�t the CV so much as simultaneously trying to figure out how much my time is worth, thus enabling me to quote rates to anyone who options my services. After sending out a scattering of questions to other freelance workers, I�ve eventually settled on a price for my time. I also have a �relevant experience� CV which, when I look at it again after the weekend, looks pretty good.

Since then, it has amused me no end to think while working on something, �This is worth X dollars of my time.� Did it take three hours? Then it�s worth X multiplied by 3. Was it a rush job for someone that took two hours? Then it was worth (X times 1.5) multiplied by 2.

This has really, really, helped me understand the value of my time and energy. It has also helped me understand that my volunteer work is truly a gift, and that I absolutely will not accept any further volunteer editing/communications work. On top of the freelance work I do, and the work for myself� well, it�s no wonder that I shut down every once in a while and panic. It never seems like much when I agree to do it, but breaking work and time down like this has really shown me that fitting it all in makes life into a crazy quilt.

Now that I understand that my time is worth money, I can be, well, picky about what I choose to do. Investing time in a project of my own that will pay off in the future is one thing, but pouring valuable time into other peoples� projects? They�d better be darned important to me.