March 15, 2013
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How I spend my time…
I have been thinking about time management lately and wondering what exactly I spend my time on?
It feels like the days fly by and I am SO busy and yet all I seem to be doing is surviving and getting the things done that HAVE to be done.
This little experiment I did was sparked by a discussion that I had with someone where they were talking about how important is to find things to do that we are passionate about. Otherwise, life can become very mundane and boring and then we tend to look for ways of escape from our reality. And that is usually not healthy.
I wondered aloud when I would ever have time for those things? It seems like everything takes time and costs money. Both of which are in short supply.
You know how no matter what you want to do, “there’s an app for that”?
Well, I found an app for tracking time and I decided I was going to see just exactly where my time went.
The app is called ATracker Lite and it was free on my I-phone.
It only took a little bit of time to set up all of my categories and then you just put the button by the category when you start sometime and push the button for the next category when you switch to that. It was very simple and effective. And if you mess up or forget to stop when you should or whatever, you can edit it or correct it afterwards.
I figured it would also keep me on task because if I am in the “bookwork” category, then I don’t have time to be surfing Facebook in between. I had been reading anyway how multi-tasking is not productive, so I thought that this would also keep me focused on one thing at a time and maybe that would be good for me.
Honestly, that thing about multi-tasking is still up for debate in my brain. I DO feel like I accomplish more because I multi-task. But, hey, who am I to argue with experts?
So, last week from Monday morning to Thursday night I kept diligent track of my time. This was a very normal/average week for me, so it gives a good snapshot of my life. Mundane as it is.
If inquiring minds want to know, here is how I spent my time for 4 days.
Sleeping — 25 hours (This was kind of frustrating to me that I spent a THIRD of my time sleeping, although I guess I should be thankful that I get a solid 8 hours of sleep pretty much every night.)
Bookwork — 20.5 hours (This included bookwork that I did away from home and at home.)
Driving — 2.5 hours
Errands — 2 hours and 45 minutes (Those dang errands!! And this didn’t even include grocery shopping, because I didn’t go in those 4 days.)
Exercising — 1 hour
Food prep and eating — 3.5 hours (I guess we had a lot of quick suppers that week. I know we had leftovers at one meal. But I don’t usually spend a lot of time cooking as a general rule. I do quick and easy.)
Fun for me — 45 minutes (I think that this was trying on new clothing/outfits that I had bought.)
Housework — 2 hours and 11 minutes (Laundry, dishwasher, random cleaning, packing lunches, etc.)
Reading — 1 hour and 12 minutes
Rest/Time with God — 1 hour and 9 minutes (this was devotional time and meditation time)
Showering and getting ready — 2.5 hours (This was one that seemed high to me. But I honestly think that I am pretty low maintenance when it comes to getting ready, etc. I have to leave the house appropriately dressed pretty much every day, but still, I am curious how this would compare to other women.)
Shopping — 41 minutes (This could probably also go in the “Fun for me” category. This was a little clothing shopping outing to brighten my Monday!)
Talking on the phone — 26 minutes. (I talked on the phone more than this, but I was either doing housework or bookwork while I talked, so I put that into those categories. This was time where I was just sitting and talking on the phone. Which rarely happens with me.)
Time with friends — 7 hours (This seemed really high to me. But it included our weekly Community Group/Bible Study, my weekly coffee with my parents, and my weekly “Wednesday Girls” get together. So this would be pretty normal. Plus, I often have another social thing or two in my week, like book club or going out for dinner with a friend.)
Time with Jeremy — 2 hours and 24 minutes (This was time with Jeremy that was not also “Time with Kids” or “Time with friends” where he was along. I should have maybe called it “alone time with Jeremy”. Not much in four days, though, is it?)
Time with kids — 4 hours and 37 minutes (Basically, what I found is that whenever I had “spare time” I would pretty much hang out with the kids. This didn’t include meal times or times in the morning when I was working on housework as they were getting ready for school or whatever. They are gone to school so much of the time, that during the week I try to be with them when I can.)
Watching TV — 20 minutes (1 episode of “Community” — One thing you cannot put on me is that I spend too much time watching TV. I rarely watch it. I don’t have time!)
Web surfing/blog reading/Facebook — 2 hours (I thought that this category might be a lot higher, which was one of the reasons that I wanted to track my time. And some of this time was even productive type of web surfing, where I was looking up something specific, etc. So not much to cut out there!)
And that was it. My whole 4 days. And then I left for 2 days for a Women’s Conference, so that is where it stopped.
I honestly felt kind of discouraged by this. Because I didn’t see a lot of places to cut things and make more time for something I am passionate about.
I guess sleeping less would be one of the most obvious, but I feel like that would affect me negatively anyway.
Comments or thoughts? Comparisons with your life?
Comments (10)
ha, ha. When you said multitasking, I was reminded of a Pickles comic strip that I posted some time back. Earl was amazed at his wife’s ability to multitask and she informed him that he was “barely a tasker!”
I believe that simply thinking with the title of this post on mind may help but not necessarily. A different way to think about it would be: what would make you happy to know you did in a week or a month from now? Finishing a set of books? Getting fit? Etc., etc.
Thank you for reminding me of that. =)
the breakdown of your four days is fascinating! hmmmm. brings some questions to my mind, about what and who you are passionate about? and are those things and people already on your list ^^^? are you actually already doing them? i was seeing some correlations… i’d love to pick up the phone over this.
and i’m anxious too to hear about your conference experience.
have a fabulous weekend!
i don’t even want to know how i spend my time!! ha ha. but it’s definitely different from yours. i spend a lot more time with my kids, of course. but mine aren’t in school yet. it just hit me the other day that even though my girls are 3 years apart, they will probably be 4 years apart in school… which means emmy won’t go for a long time yet.
don’t cut out sleep. you will have to add a category for confused wondering about.
Well, this really drives it home to me that I need to prioritize like I used to, but things have changed. Like having 2 kids 2 states away. I spend all day and all night with my hubby, with a few exceptions. I have recently spent more time on Pinterest because I am looking/searching for just the right thing to make you. I am getting closer! Photography is my number 1 passion and I am so grateful that I have the freedom to go out and shoot. I also love to walk a good trail. Fortunately, my hubby goes with me when we combine walking with shooting pictures. So, yay, but I still need to make the most of the rest of my time!
I’m so not tracking my time . . . ha! I just started tracking my calories and food and exercise with the my fitness pal thing so I already feel hassled, haha, by having to put all that in the phone.
This is my THIRD time visiting this page trying to comment. I keep getting interupted. First off – I am beyond impressed. You are so seriously disciplined, and I don’t know…driven? I want some of that!
I was just reading about multi-tasking too, so I’m trying to give it up. When I do bookwork, I’m usually listening to a podcast, doing phone calls or messages, and afterwords my brain feels hyperactive, so I think maybe I’m trying to pack too much info into my head at one time. Another thing, I do bookwork at home, and it is a constant interuption with the kids, one after the other, making it SO HARD to get anything done.
I am going to download that app and track myself next week. It might just be a shamefest, because I watch at least 1-2 hours of tv in the evening.
This is sooooo interesting. I’m pretty sure I’d have a hard time getting an accurate reading though b/c just knowing that I’m being tracked would make me be more disciplined.
And I’m with Cindy, I wonder if relationships with people is one of the things you are passionate about and you are already making it happen??? You didn’t tell us the hidden passion you are trying to make time for. 
This post is extremely interesting to me b/c I was just doing the same thing with dissecting my time, except I was being all math-geeky about it and figuring out averages over the course of an entire year divided into day by day portions. This was mind blowing, since about 8 hours of each day was unaccounted for in my figures. What DO I do with that time? I’m a very driven person who feels the desire to use my time for God’s glory. After all, it’s not really MY time anyway, is it? It’s on loan from the Lord. Did I use it wisely, to benefit me, or eternity? Usually, we find time for the things we are passionate about in one way or another. You are obviously passionate about clothes, so you make time in your week to shop for them and try them on. Relationships also seem to be high on your list, so you spend a good portion of your time on that. Good for you! I’m sure there are other passions you’d like to be able to delve into more, but there are seasons in life we just can’t b/c priorities dictate otherwise. If it’s a passion given to you from the Lord, though, He has a way of making it happen! Great post!