Calculate the Value of Your Time (and Buy Back Your Life)
Watch on YouTube Last week, we explored the Buyback Loop — the rhythm of auditing, transferring, and filling your time with work that creates energy and impact. But how do you know what’s truly worth delegating? How do you decide which tasks to release, which to keep, and which to elevate? Dan Martell…
Last week, we explored the Buyback Loop — the rhythm of auditing, transferring, and filling your time with work that creates energy and impact.
But how do you know what’s truly worth delegating? How do you decide which tasks to release, which to keep, and which to elevate? Dan Martell answers that with a simple tool: your Buyback Rate.
The Formula for Freedom
Your Buyback Rate = (Your Annual Income ÷ 2,000) ÷ 4
- “2,000” is a rough estimate of working hours in a year.
- Dividing by four sets a reasonable return on investment. This serves as a threshold: delegate anything that costs less than 25% of your effective hourly value.
Example: If you earn $100,000 per year:
- $100,000 ÷ 2,000 = $50/hour
- $50 ÷ 4 = $12.50/hour
Any task you could delegate, automate, or outsource for less than $12.50/hour is below your Buyback Rate — and belongs in your delegation zone.
Buyback Rate Calculator
Your Annual Income ($):Calculate
Formula: (Annual Income ÷ 2,000) ÷ 4
How the Loop Accelerates
Once you free those hours, the goal isn’t leisure — it’s leverage. Reinvest that time in higher-value activities: the creative, strategic, and relational work that generates a higher return and lights you up.
As your income rises, your Buyback Rate rises too. Each cycle lets you buy back more time, delegate at a higher level, and stay in your highest zone of contribution.
Preparedness in Motion
This is preparedness in practice: know your numbers, design your systems, and align your days with what truly creates value. When you know your Buyback Rate, you stop making time decisions from guilt or habit — and start making them from clarity and purpose.
That’s not indulgence — it’s stewardship. It’s how you consistently operate at your highest level while empowering others to support the mission and realize their own best and highest use.
A Challenge for the Week Ahead
- Calculate your Buyback Rate.
- Identify one task below that rate to delegate this week.
- Choose how you’ll refill that time with higher-value work.
You might be surprised how much freedom is hiding in your calendar.