Time is like money – if you don’t tell it where to go, you won’t know where it went until it’s gone. And sometimes you won’t even know where it went after it’s gone.
In order for you to really maximize your hours everyday, you’ve got to know where your time goes, especially with the things you do day in and day out.
So before you start planning every minute and scheduling time for the most important things, you’ll need to figure out where your time is going right now. Start by asking yourself these questions…
How Much Time Does it Take You to…
- How much time does it take you to brush your teeth and floss? You are flossing, right?
- How much time does it take you to take a shower?
- How much time does it take you to get dressed for work?
- How much time does it take you to drive to work?
- How much time does it take you to drive home? Is the traffic worse or better?
- How much time does it take you to eat breakfast? Lunch? Dinner?
- How much time does it take you to work out? Run? Lift weights?
- How much time does it take you to shop for groceries each week? Or month?
We Have an Inaccurate Perception of Time
The truth is that until you know how long these trivial, daily tasks take, you won’t really have an accurate idea of how much time you have for the top priority items. We all seem to have a false sense of how long it actually takes us to do things. That’s why “just give me five more minutes” rarely actually means five more minutes.
It may seem silly to time yourself completing these everyday happenings, but in the end, you’ll be glad you did. You may even find an extra 15 or 30 minutes that you didn’t know you had. Until I timed my daily tasks, I didn’t realize that I would have an extra 10 or 15 minutes each morning after getting ready for work. Now I use that time to read, which means I can read a couple extra books every month by using time I never knew I had.
Your life shouldn’t be so robotic that you develop an ulcer from all the stress of completing everything right on schedule, but you should get an idea of how much time it really takes you to do the things you do.
Just be careful. Figuring how long it takes you to do these things could lead to:
- Constantly being on time for work and meetings
- New found time to do the things you’ve been wanting to do
- More time with your significant other or children
- A calm, not rushed, feeling in the mornings
- The ability to accomplish more all around
- An extremely productive life
It may sound silly, but knowing where your time goes is just as important as knowing where your money goes. That’s why you budget your money. This is like budgeting your time, or more like logging your time expenditures.
Try this for a couple weeks and let me know your results. You’ll be glad you did. 🙂