Rule #4: Volunteer with caution
The price of competence is demand.
Skilled and accomplished, you will routinely be asked to contribute to the visions and projects of others: as an employee, as a co-worker, as a partner, as an advisor, as a paid (or unpaid) expert. These contributions will invariably be couched as “opportunities” — presented to you as the thing that will catapult your career, help others in the highest sense, or preserve your good standing as a member of the tribe.
Agree at your peril.
Every time you volunteer, you have taken time away from your personally-defined pursuit of Agency and Impact and allocated it to someone else. Time being zero-sum, you will not reclaim those minutes and hours, and they will remain forever misdirected.
In tandem, you will have garnered temporary esteem and praise for your civic-mindedness, yet the opportunity cost of your choice was likely not considered by your requestor — they thought not of what you would give up to help, but only what they would gain by your agreement.
Consider these dynamics next time you’re asked to volunteer, whether to assist a co-worker, take on a project at work, or to give hours and days to a charitable cause. In the extreme, you may choose to reject requests out of hand, or you may simply choose to be highly selective.
Regardless, volunteer with caution.
READ ALL THE RULES OF TIME
