When you purchase an hour of time, it is not immediately obvious how much value you get, because (1) different hours have different value, and (2) it is not always clear which hour you are purchasing.

Different hours have different value

Ways in which an hour can be more valuable to you include:

1. Time of day: morning, evening.
2. Social context: with friends, with family, with strangers, alone.
3. Location: at home, at work, at an art studio, on a beach, in a hospital.
4. Activity: working, reading, Netflix, eating, sleeping, exercising, meditating.

There are probably hours characterized by some combination of the above that are worth more to you (holiday with friends), and others that are worth less (Netflix in the evening).

Which hour are you purchasing

Imagine that you are on holiday, wanting to see a major historical site this morning. There is a 1-hour task in your way that you could either complete yourself or pay somebody $X to do for you.

If you pay the $X, which hour are you purchasing?

The obvious answer is that you are purchasing 1-hour of visiting the major historical site.

But, more likely, you are doing something like:

1. Leaving for the historical site an hour earlier, spending an equivalent amount of time there, and so having additional time left over in the evening.
2. Leaving for the historical site an hour earlier, coming back at the same time, and so having an additional \(n+1\)’th hour at the historical site.
3. Leaving for the historical site at the same time, coming back at the same time, and so having an hour containing something other than the historical site visit.