I still consider myself relatively new to HubPages, but if I have learned anything from my time here, it is that this is THE audience for a lesson on investing one's time.

And if this is THE audience, then this is most definitely THE time.

This is not meant as a criticism, by any means; well, it is, but I include myself among the criticized. I prefer, however, to think of this hub as a reflection, or analysis, or commentary on hubbing. A "meta-hub", if you will.

...I wonder if some day someone in the forums (Darkside, or Mark perhaps) will ever say, "and thus was coined the term 'meta-hub.'" Wishful thinking, I suppose...

Back to the point. I know most of us spend way to much time hubbing, and now that the Hub Love Contest is ongoing, I can only imagine.

I want to take this opportunity to analyze the investment of our most precious commodity: our time.

I suspect the following estimates are fairly conservative, but let us assume the following:

1. The winner of this contest will have published a minimum of 30 hubs.
2. On average, each hub will take approximately 1 hour to write, research and publish.
3. The winner will have spent approximately 20 hours on ancillary HubPages activity: guessing at the clues, reading hubs, commenting, etc.

Therefore, the winner of this contest will have spent a minimum of 50 hours in their attempt to win. Again, I believe this to be a conservative estimate, the actual numbers are likely a good deal higher. However, assuming the winner has 50 hours invested in this contest, the reward is roughly $100 per hour.

Now, until recently, a 13-year-old kid from my neighborhood mowed my lawn. He charged $30 and it took him approximately 30 minutes. He made $1 a minute mowing lawns. The winner of this contest will have invested 3000 minutes for a return of $5000, and will have earned $1.67 per minute.

Without having any idea who will win, I believe it is safe to assume that the winner's education, training and skills set would allow them to earn at least double what the 13-year-old boy earns. Therefore, if prospective winners will invest their time wisely, they can, by the end of the contest, earn enough from their labors to buy the $5000 prize package AND invest $1000.

As an avid hubber myself, I have learned that several of life's other pleasures and responsibilities have come to take second place to hubbing.

• Family: Nothing, other than one's faith, should take priority over one's family. Yet, I have read in the forums that the Hub Love Contest is creating HubPages widows/widowers. Perhaps a reconsideration of priorities is in order. If your HubPages addiction is such that a break would cause you physical pain, consider including your spouse or significant other in generating ideas, proofreading, or keeping the coffee IV in tact.
• Work: I would imagine that only the flu costs the international economy more in missed work hours than HubPages. Oh, how often I have read hubbers lamenting that a computer at work will not allow access to HubPages or their duties at work are taking time away from HubPages... Alas, we (the HubPages community) need to admit that we have a problem. Admitting that we have a problem is the first step to recovery. And we need to recover our time desperately.
• Life: Yes, there is life ouside of HubPages. Some of you coach little league, others maintain 29 blogs or other websites, others still attend PTO meetings, volunteer in civic organizations, or play Bridge. Do you still? We need to let the Tivo rest and return to life in the real world. If only for a moment.

I do not mean to discourage your hubbing, quite the contrary. I intend to promote healthy hubbing, and hopefully save your family, your job and your life in the process.

In the end, we all have a finite amount of time on earth. Before we learn to invest anything else, we need to learn how to manage and invest our most precious commodity: our time.

...And I'm not just saying this to improve my chances of winning (wink, wink).