You run around going to work, getting kids to and from practice, getting food on the table, and other tasks that take up valuable time, so you say you’re too busy for the things you really enjoy.
Sound familiar?
According to a poll, 61 percent of working Americans said they did not have enough time to do the things they wanted to do, presumably because they were too busy doing the things they have to do.
What if we told you there is enough time to do both?
No, we’re not talking about time travel.
Laura Vanderkam, author of I Know How She Does It, suggests writing out a log of every half hour of every day for one week. You’ll quickly see how much free time you actually have, and, our guess is it will be more than you thought.
Vanderkam, a mother of four and full-time worker, began analyzing the time logs she kept after an entire year, and realized how much time she had to be productive once she began taking a closer look.
- She used an excel spreadsheet to log her time 3-6 times a day
- She categorized her activities after analyzing all of her time logs
- She did it for herself, which kept her honest
Do you want to find more free time in your day?
- Start by using excel, an app, or even an old-fashioned notebook to log your time
- Create categories for yourself – everyone’s are different, because priorities are different
- Be honest with yourself
- Log your time for just one week and you will already begin to see patterns, which you can then turn into action steps
Likely, there will be things you’d like to keep doing, but there will also be activities that won’t truly be necessary, leaving time for more important things!
