“It’ll be worth it because I’m making ‘X’ amount of money”…we’ve all said this before.

The problem with this statement? We’re making money our end goal.

And you might be thinking, ‘well MollyKate, money IS my end goal!’ and if that’s you, know that I’ve been there too….and it’s time for a mindset shift.

Story Time

Here’s a quick little story for some context. When I started my freshman year of college, I quickly realized that I would be supporting myself. This meant needing to buy my own groceries, pay for a place to live, etc. and I immediately went into a scarcity mindset.

I thought that there was only so much money in the world and I needed as much of it as I could get my hands on. (to live on my own and live the life I wanted to live.) You guys, I literally did the SILLIEST thing ever! I told myself that I needed some sort of stream of income, every single day of the week.

Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays you could find me working at a local boutique. Tuesdays and Thursdays, I was assisting as a part time photographer. Saturdays, I would go waitress at a pancake shop in the morning, and then go sell wedding dresses in the afternoon at a bridal store. And Sundays, I kept open to do senior photo sessions.

Oh my goodness!!!

Even writing that, makes me anxious all over again. Did I forget to mention that this was all on top of going to college FULL TIME?!

This madness only lasted about 2 months into college. And I realized a few lessons VERY quickly.

I quickly learned:

1.) Not taking time to rest, was making me sick, tired, and honestly, not that good of a student.

2.) By filling everyday of the week with work, I was telling myself that my worth was found in the monetary results of what I was doing, and not in who I am as a person.

3.) I was leaving absolutely no time for cultivating new friendships at college, or going home to visit my family. (Making me very antisocial!)

4.) Tirelessly working 24/7, actually made me hate the work that I was doing, and made me resentful of the money I was making.

So in the end, I reached my goal of making more than enough money to survive. But, I was absolutely miserable, and was using that money to live a life I wasn’t even enjoying.

Do you see yet, the point that I’m trying to make?

Money cannot be your currency.

I have learned now, that more than anything else in the world, I value TIME.

When my Google calendar is filled with meetings, projects, and deadlines….I’ve learned nothing feels more gratifying than also adding in blocked off time for “relax and watch reality tv” or “date night with Gabe”.

But here’s where I want you to brace yourselves. Because I don’t want you to just sneak in time here and there, for yourself. I truly, truly believe that we should cut INTO our normal working hours, and radically implement large amounts of rest into our lives.

Take a Break

You may be familiar with Sunday being known as a day of ‘Sabbath’. This is where many people of faith take the whole day off. They dedicate it to going to church, spending time with family, and most importantly, not working.

In fact, when I spent time in France, they didn’t have a single business or establishment open on Sundays. There was no going to the grocery store, cafe, pharmacy, nothing.

I believe that taking Sundays off of work, is just a baseline practice.

Personally, I take Saturdays and Sundays off and most weeks, Wednesday or Thursday too. This helps break up my time spent working, with family, and getting things done around the apartment. I understand that I’m an entrepreneur, so I’m able to work from home and create my own schedule. However, I know many people who work in a corporate job and they negotiated a shorter work week. This can look different to everybody!

The point that I’m trying to make is:

Time should be your currency.

Especially with what’s going on in the world right now. Being in quarantine and some people not leaving their homes at all: if time is your currency, then you just hit the lottery.

I want you to shift your money mindset away from scarcity mode, and into an abundance mindset.

When we believe and accept that money is renewable, we will start to focus on things that are not: like time with your friends and family TODAY.

And if you’re sitting here thinking, “okay that’s great, I want to spend less time working, and more time doing the things I love but I don’t know how. Or, I don’t have enough income to cut back on work..” I have two words for you:

Passive. Income.

This will be it’s own blog post and podcast episode soon. BUT I urge you to look into ways of creating a passive income for you and your family, so you can make money from literally anywhere, at any time.

Truthfully, I’ve never had a completely passive source of income before, BUT here’s an example of semi passive income:

I make clothing and accessories for my online shop. Then one day in the middle of a Wednesday morning, when my mom and I went hiking together my Apple watch gets an alert that I made a sale. It’s not completely passive because I still have to go home now, package the order, and take it to the post office. BUT there is still the possibility of money hitting my business bank account while I’m out, enjoying life with my family.

An example of how I could make this a truly 100% passive income? If the product I sold on the online shop, was a digital product like an e-book, guide, or template. This gets automatically emailed to the customer at the time of purchase. That’s completely hands off! (Secret: that’s how many of your favorite entrepreneurs are able to always be seen on a boat in Ibiza or on the beach in Hawaii!)

Now, you might not be ready for passive income just yet (or you might feel like it’s not right for you) and that’s totally okay! That’s just one example of how you can free up time in your life.

Know Your Numbers

My last tip for adding more free time into your schedule? Know your baseline ‘number’.

Basically, sit down and run the numbers. Figure out exactly how much moolah you need in your pocket each month, to pay all the bills, go out to eat, etc. Once you have your number:

You will know what you need to make each month. No more wondering if you’re going to be able to get by or not. You will have peace of mind. You won’t be tempted to fill your schedule with extra jobs every single day. You’ll take a day to go to the zoo or hangout with friends.

Make time your currency.

And yes, take time to visit that old breakfast shop and order some pancakes.