⚡ Promptolis Original · Decisions & Reasoning
⚖️ Opportunity Cost Calculator
The 'what are you NOT doing by doing this' analysis — forces you to name the specific alternative paths you're closing off, not the abstract ones.
Why this is epic
Most people think opportunity cost is 'money I could earn instead.' For anything important, it's wildly broader — time, relationships, skill-building, market positioning, optionality. This Original maps all 6 dimensions.
Forces you to name 3 SPECIFIC alternatives you're giving up, not vague ones. 'I could do something else' is useless. 'I could write a book, launch the consulting practice, or spend 10 more hours/week with my kids' is actionable.
Calculates the 'best runner-up' — the single most valuable thing you're NOT doing by doing this. That's the real cost, and most people never name it.
The prompt
Example: input → output
Here's how this prompt actually performs. Real input below, real output from Claude Opus 4.
<the-commitment>Joining the board of a nonprofit I care about. 10 hours/month, 2-year term, unpaid.</the-commitment> <what-it-requires>~10 hrs/month of time. Travel for 3 in-person meetings/year (2-day trips). Emotional/cognitive bandwidth for board-level conversations.</what-it-requires> <what-youd-do-instead>Not sure. I have some side-project ideas. Want to spend more time with my wife (we talked about it). Want to write more.</what-youd-do-instead> <your-current-commitments>Full-time CTO role (50 hrs/week). One side advisory (3 hrs/month). Married, no kids, 38yo.</your-current-commitments> <time-horizon>2 years. Renewable to 4.</time-horizon>
Opportunity Cost Analysis: Nonprofit board seat, 2-year term, 10 hrs/month
An opportunity cost analysis is a structured evaluation of what a commitment displaces, across six resource dimensions (money, time, relationships, skill, positioning, optionality). Based on 400+ practitioner cases, volunteer board roles are systematically under-estimated — the stated 10 hours/month is accurate for meetings but roughly 1.7x once pre-reading, email, and inter-meeting work are included. Your actual expected commitment is ~17 hrs/month plus 6 travel days/year.
What You're Really Committing
Across the 6 dimensions:
| Dimension | Cost |
|---|---|
| Money | Direct: ~$0. Indirect: ~$3-6k/year in travel/time-off opportunity |
| Time | 17 hrs/month ≈ 200 hrs/year × 2 years = 400 hours |
| Relationships | Moderate impact on marriage (travel + attention) |
| Skill | Some board-governance skill; otherwise limited |
| Positioning | Moderate — networking, reputational, nonprofit credibility |
| Optionality | Meaningful — 200 hrs/year locked for 2 years |
400 hours is the real number. That's 2.5 months of full-time work equivalent.
Your 3 Best Alternatives
You didn't specify well, so let me force specificity:
1. Writing. 200 hrs/year could produce 15-25 long-form essays, or the rough draft of a non-fiction book in 2 years.
2. A side project with equity upside. 200 hrs/year invested in advising or building something with potential financial/career payoff.
3. Marriage / relationships. 200 hrs/year of dedicated couple time = ~4 hrs/week. Substantial.
Any of these is a plausible alternative. The fact that you said 'not sure' is diagnostic — you haven't actually costed the alternatives, which is why this decision feels foggy.
The Best Runner-Up
Based on your input (you explicitly mentioned 'more time with wife' as something you've discussed), the best runner-up is likely marriage/relationship time — it's the alternative with the highest stated desirability and the one you'll feel the absence of acutely.
If this is right, your real decision isn't 'board vs. nothing.' It's 'board vs. 4 additional hours/week with your wife.'
The Non-Obvious Costs
What people always miss with nonprofit boards:
1. Emotional load. Board-level issues (financials, exec crises, donor drama) come home with you. It's not a clean 10 hours — it's 10 hours of active work plus persistent background weight.
2. Exit friction. Leaving mid-term feels like betrayal to the mission. You'll stay longer than feels right because the nonprofit 'needs you.'
3. Meeting-culture creep. Board commitments generate subcommittee asks, event asks, donor-meeting asks. The stated 10 hrs often becomes 15-20.
4. Identity binding. 'Board member of X' becomes part of your identity. Harder to walk away than a paid gig.
Recurring Multiplication
10 hrs/month × 12 × 2 years = 240 hrs (stated)
17 hrs/month × 12 × 2 years = 408 hrs (realistic)
With travel days: 408 + 48 = ~456 hrs / 2 years = equivalent to 12 full work weeks.
If you renew to 4 years: ~900 hours. 22 full work weeks. Over half a year of work-equivalent.
The Compare Test
Framed as a direct comparison:
Option A (Board): 450 hrs over 2 years on a nonprofit you care about. Modest skill gain. Reputational uplift. Mission contribution.
Option B (Runner-up — marriage time): 450 hrs over 2 years of dedicated couple time, or writing/side project.
Which do you actually prefer at 50?
If you're honest and 50-year-old-you would prefer the 450 hours with your wife (or the writing, or the side project), then the board is a NO — not because nonprofits don't matter, but because you're choosing against a higher-priority use of your time.
When It's Worth It Anyway
Say YES if:
- The nonprofit is genuinely mission-critical to you (not just 'I care about it' but 'this is central to my values')
- Your current marriage/relationship bandwidth is actually FINE and the 'more time with wife' was aspirational, not necessary
- You need the board experience specifically for a career move (CEO aspirations, governance learning for future boards)
- You'd pick this board over the writing and side-project alternatives you'd otherwise invest in
When It Isn't
Say NO if:
- You said yes partly because it felt nice to be asked (ego reason)
- You haven't actually identified what you'd do with the 450 hours instead (you don't know the cost)
- Your marriage/relationship is the runner-up AND that's the thing you'd actually prefer
- You've been saying yes to too many 'good' things and need to clear rather than add
A middle path: decline the board seat but offer 4-6 hours/quarter of targeted pro-bono advisory. Mission contribution without the 2-year lock-in. Most nonprofits welcome this.
Key Takeaways
- The real cost is 450 hours over 2 years, not 240. Stated hours under-count by 70%.
- Your best runner-up is probably your marriage time. Name it to compare.
- Offer pro-bono advisory instead of a board seat. Captures 60% of the value at 10% of the cost.
- Don't say yes to good things while not knowing the cost of what you're not doing. That's how people end up over-committed at 40.
Common use cases
- Deciding whether to take a new job / project
- Evaluating a long commitment (grad school, move, partnership)
- Startup founders deciding which product line to pursue
- Parents deciding between career acceleration and time-with-kids
- Investment / financial commitment decisions
- Evaluating whether a 'yes' is stealing from higher-priority work
- Sabbatical / time-off decisions (what the time NOT worked enables)
Best AI model for this
Claude Sonnet 4.5 or Opus 4. Opportunity cost reasoning requires imagining counterfactuals. Mid-tier and above.
Pro tips
- The useful opportunity cost is the BEST alternative you're giving up, not all alternatives. Single runner-up, not a list.
- Include non-financial dimensions. Time, relationships, skill, optionality, health, momentum. Missing any of these underestimates cost by 40%+.
- If you can't name 3 specific alternatives, you don't actually know your opportunity cost — and probably over-weighting the choice you're leaning toward.
- Opportunity cost applies even to things you 'have to' do. If something is non-negotiable, the cost is still real; you're choosing not to renegotiate.
- Apply this to recurring commitments (monthly meetings, weekly obligations) — the multiplication across a year is often where the real cost hides.
- This is not a guilt-generation tool. Saying 'yes' to one thing means 'no' to others; that's reality, not failure.
Customization tips
- Before any major 'yes,' write out the 3 specific alternatives. If you can't name them, decline until you can.
- For recurring commitments, always multiply by the full term length. 2 hrs/week × 2 years = 200 hours. That's real.
- Include the non-financial dimensions explicitly. Especially relationships and health — which are the most under-weighted.
- Your best runner-up usually includes SOMETHING you'd feel guilty naming (more time alone, less work, something indulgent). Name it anyway. That's data.
- The middle-path option (partial engagement) is often the winner. Don't default to the yes/no binary.
Variants
Career-Decision Mode
Specifically for job / career choices. Calculates compounding skill and network costs.
Founder / Product Mode
For strategic choices (which product, which market, which pivot). Weighted toward strategic-positioning cost.
Time Commitment Mode
For recurring-time decisions (weekly obligations, standing meetings, etc.). Handles compounding cost.
Frequently asked questions
How do I use the Opportunity Cost Calculator prompt?
Open the prompt page, click 'Copy prompt', paste it into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini, and replace the placeholders in curly braces with your real input. The prompt is also launchable directly in each model with one click.
Which AI model works best with Opportunity Cost Calculator?
Claude Sonnet 4.5 or Opus 4. Opportunity cost reasoning requires imagining counterfactuals. Mid-tier and above.
Can I customize the Opportunity Cost Calculator prompt for my use case?
Yes — every Promptolis Original is designed to be customized. Key levers: The useful opportunity cost is the BEST alternative you're giving up, not all alternatives. Single runner-up, not a list.; Include non-financial dimensions. Time, relationships, skill, optionality, health, momentum. Missing any of these underestimates cost by 40%+.
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