Reward per Minute: The Only Metric That Matters

Most workers compare tasks by reward size. That is a mistake. A $0.10 task that takes two minutes earns $3 per hour; a $0.50 task that takes forty minutes earns $0.75 per hour. The bigger reward pays four times less for your time.

Before starting any task, make a quick estimate: how many minutes will this honestly take, including reading instructions and submitting proof? Divide the reward by that number. Do the tasks with the best rate first, and skip the ones that waste your hour.

There is one exception: learning. A new task type may have a poor rate the first time and a great rate once you are fast at it. Give promising categories two or three tries before judging them — then let the numbers decide.