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31 Days – 168 Hours
Did you know there are 168 hours in a week? Is it something you even think about?
I honestly didn’t until this year. I’m sure at some point I had heard that there
were 168 hours in a week, but it didn’t have any significance to me, so I
promptly let it out of my head.
were 168 hours in a week, but it didn’t have any significance to me, so I
promptly let it out of my head.
At the beginning of this year I started reading some amazing
books on time management. Maybe time
management is the wrong way to describe these books. There were about finding margin, finding time
to do the things that I love, finding time for myself, to have self-care, being
able to say no when you should say no and yes when you want to say yes. These are some really incredible books that I
will talk about more throughout this series.
books on time management. Maybe time
management is the wrong way to describe these books. There were about finding margin, finding time
to do the things that I love, finding time for myself, to have self-care, being
able to say no when you should say no and yes when you want to say yes. These are some really incredible books that I
will talk about more throughout this series.
A recurring theme in these books was that everyone has the
same 168 hours in a week, and it is our choice on how we use those hours.
same 168 hours in a week, and it is our choice on how we use those hours.
How I
use my time is my choice.
use my time is my choice.
That is an interesting concept, choice. I often felt like I had to do certain things. I
didn’t want to disappoint people, I felt like it was imperative for me to do
certain tasks, like the world would end if I didn’t do it.
didn’t want to disappoint people, I felt like it was imperative for me to do
certain tasks, like the world would end if I didn’t do it.
Do you
ever feel that way?
ever feel that way?
I finally came to the conclusion that the world would
continue to spin even if I said no, even if I stopped doing things that were
not fulfilling to me, things that I felt obligated to, but didn’t enjoy and
were more draining than anything.
continue to spin even if I said no, even if I stopped doing things that were
not fulfilling to me, things that I felt obligated to, but didn’t enjoy and
were more draining than anything.
I
finally realized that if I wasn’t enjoying a task, I wasn’t giving it the best
attention the task deserved, and therefore someone else would be better suited
for said task.
finally realized that if I wasn’t enjoying a task, I wasn’t giving it the best
attention the task deserved, and therefore someone else would be better suited
for said task.
What I want you to do this week: take an inventory of your
time.
time.
Why? Well, this is
going to help you find margin.
going to help you find margin.
I know, it might sound silly. I thought it was a little silly. I know when I am waking up. I know when I am doing school with the kids,
when I am making food, etc. But, how
much time am I really spending on tasks.
How much time is wasted throughout the day? Not that every day is going to be the most
efficient, scheduled day, but this will help you find margin in your day for
that self-care.
when I am making food, etc. But, how
much time am I really spending on tasks.
How much time is wasted throughout the day? Not that every day is going to be the most
efficient, scheduled day, but this will help you find margin in your day for
that self-care.
If you only look at a day, it will be hard to find margin, but
when you look at an entire week, you are able to see patterns, and can perhaps
shift things so that you have a block of time to do some type of self-care.
when you look at an entire week, you are able to see patterns, and can perhaps
shift things so that you have a block of time to do some type of self-care.
How long are you sleeping?
How many breaks do you take to check Facebook or Instagram
(a lot, I check Instagram a lot). How
much time do you spend commuting?
Waiting in line?
How many breaks do you take to check Facebook or Instagram
(a lot, I check Instagram a lot). How
much time do you spend commuting?
Waiting in line?
I want to challenge you to take an inventory of your time
for a week. Write down everything. Yes, it is easy to say I did x from 8-10, but
were there interruptions? Did you take
little breaks to check e-mail or Facebook?
Did you have 10 interruptions from co-workers or little ones running
around?
for a week. Write down everything. Yes, it is easy to say I did x from 8-10, but
were there interruptions? Did you take
little breaks to check e-mail or Facebook?
Did you have 10 interruptions from co-workers or little ones running
around?
I
honestly believe this is the first step in finding time for self-care.
honestly believe this is the first step in finding time for self-care.
Knowing when you have time to do what energizes you is
something that will help you on your way to self-care.
something that will help you on your way to self-care.
Have
you done a time assessment before? When
do you think you can make time for self-care?
you done a time assessment before? When
do you think you can make time for self-care?
This is a great idea! Taking stock of how we spend our time will surely help in finding a proper balance.
This is a great idea to look at the week cumulatively, I agree an hour or two can likely be shaved off here and there! Any extra time gained is a win! Thanks for the advice 🙂
I have done this! And it can be quite a tedious task to keep track of every single activity through the day, but it is 100% worth the effort. I learned that I waste a lot of time on social media, hoping to find something awesome (which happens maybe once a day – not the bajillion times I'm checking on it!) and that most tasks I don't enjoy (like cleaning) don't take nearly as long as they seem to.