There’s something often not talked about in business, and it’s the return on time investment (ROTI). 

Your time is worth a lot! And, if you want to make more money in your business, you’ve got to pay attention to the time you spend on something vs. what you get from it. 

I’ll explain further down. But first, let’s talk about the word “busy”. 

 The word busy is casually thrown around in conversation.  

“How was your weekend?” “oh, busy.”

“How’s your week going?” “oh, busy.”

I’m guilty of it. 

We all are. 

I wonder, how many of us are busy actually achieving something specific and noteworthy? 

Or simply filling in the gaps of each day with to-dos that keep us moving yet don’t allow us to reach any destination? 

I recently heard of the term called Return on Time Invested (ROTI) while (let’s be honest) using the precious time I have during the day scrolling online. 

I’m happy I came across it because it stopped me from what I was doing and made me realize just how much time I invest each day without any tangible returns! 

For example, spending an entire week signing up for and watching webinars because you think you’ll learn something. And then don’t apply what you learn. 

Or, posting on social media every day with no end goal other than to be on there or downloading a video on how to increase your Instagram engagement and seeing no changes to your Instagram engagement after.

Activities like the above give you very little ROTI! 

Why does Return on Time Investment (ROTI) matter?

Because the time you’re spending on webinars, or posting to social media, or playing around with marketing ideas, or editing your website, takes away from the time you could be spending on making money in your business.

Why keep spinning around in circles, using the time you have dedicated to building your business, on activities that, sure might feed you information, but ultimately just keep you in the same place? 

It’s like going to a gym without knowing where to begin.

You go try different machines and look at what others are doing. You listen to music. And stay there for an hour before you leave.

It feels like you did something because you spent time there. But, you’re no closer to your goal than when you started!  

Instead, hiring a personal trainer to show you exactly what to do and when to do it will help you get to your goal a lot more quickly. You’ll stay focused, cut out the overwhelm and “what do I do next” and actually see the results from your efforts. 

Spending hours trying to learn something new or doing it yourself cuts into the valuable time that you could be using to actually reach your goals.

Money and time are quite intertwined! 

You can either take that time to make money, even if you have to spend it to give that time back into your schedule.

Or you can use time to feel busy, “save money” but lose money because you then run out of time to make the money you actually want to make.

That’s a mouthful, I know. But, read it again slowly and really let that sink in.

How often are you assessing your return on time investment? Is your busy day truly helping you reach your goals? Or are they just filling in the time gaps? 

Busy is only worth it when you’re seeing true traction from your action. 

Be intentional with every action you take. 

Yes, it’s great to fill your mind with knowledge so that you can view your business and how you’re reaching your goals from different angles.

But, always be mindful of your return on time investment. 

Always ask: how is this task helping me to reach my xyz goal? 

If it’s not, step away from it. Let someone else take it on. Or leave it on the table for now until the time comes for focusing on it makes sense.

Does this help?

P.S. why waste time on marketing tactics without keeping these specific marketing components in mind first?

Whether you’re an interior designer or not, these marketing oversights will hurt the success of your business.

Learn more in this free webinar and download: