Spring is a time for renewal, to refresh and start again. I chose my book club’s spring read, 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think by Laura Vanderkam, to bring about life change to simply revive in this season. WOW! That’s all I can say…WOW! How many of us constantly complain that we don’t have enough time in the day to accomplish the things we need to nevertheless less the things we want to do? Vanderkam honestly makes readers pause, reflect and examine how we utilize our time. But here’s the warning…. You need to be utterly HONEST with yourself to get an accurate picture of how you spend your 24 hours per day, 168 hours per week. And trust me, it’s easier said than done.
Vanderkam offers a Time Management Worksheet as a useful tool to record your daily activities in 15minute increments. Sounds like a large undertaking, right? However, the time is well worth it. Think of it as a log to visually track everything you do on a typical day. She does recommend tracking for an entire week as weekends will bring on different schedules. In addition, some days will inevitably pop up atypical appointments, last minute emergencies, and sicknesses that alter your plans. I’ll be completely upfront and admit I didn’t fulfill a week’s worth of tracking but I did get much insight. What was personally most helpful, was logging my activities at the end of a month to see what changes I had in fact made…this is what I recommend!
Bottom line is that 168 Hours shows how you choose to spend your time whether working, carpooling, playing with your kids, or completing house work. It shines light on what you think matters most compared to how much time you actually spend on the most important things or people. Time can get away from us with busy lives, work and responsibilities, but 168 allows us to reexamine our lives and help us make conscious choices that better align with our goals, core competencies and happiness.
Leading a full life is what most of us aspire to. Having a happy family life, purposeful work, meaningful social connections, serving others, prioritizing faithful endeavors and making time to relax or enjoy hobbies is what we strive for. While the exact component of what defines a full life will vary from person to person, the greater idea is the same. What a time overhaul does is show you exactly where you are logging hours, wasting minutes, and underutilizing yourself. What we think we are doing may very well not be happening. For instance, volunteering has always been important to me. I selectively choose which organizations I support but when I looked at my weekly commitments, I realized they were inconsistent. Projects come and go but I don’t have a regular volunteer obligation, which I realize I enjoy…it fulfills me. So scheduling 2 hours per week to help my causes made my life more full!
Starting with a blank slate is invigorating! You are the designer of your life. You fill in the slots with what you choose to do. “You build a life where you really can have it all” (24). You decide how to spend your time doing more of the things that are fulfilling and ones you are passionate about. You choose what is not important in this season of life and make time for things and people who are. If your priority is playing more with your children, block time do that each and every day. Gracefully decline a PTO meeting that you can get the agenda to, or cancel a golf outing you are secretly dreading. If it’s not a priority, get comfortable with saying, “No!” Turn off your phone for 45 minutes so you can play board games, shoot hoops, or take a bike ride together. Make dinner the meal you get home for each night, connect through conversation, share laughs, jokes and stories. This small part of your day may immensely strengthen your bonds while fulfilling your priority to family time.
Vanderkam reminds us that we each have core competencies-things we are naturally good at. It’s most effective and satisfying when our work aligns with these competencies (This will be another blog post!). “You should do what you love and you should love what you do,” says Harvard professor Teresa Amabile (58). While that all sounds idealist, it can and should happen. Again, that may take time for some of us who aren’t living out that dream job. Yet small changes can create a job more consistent with your ideals. Really look at how much actual time is spent on job related tasks. How many employees think they work 40 hours a week, but spend closer to 30? Checking personal emails, taking coffee breaks, scheduling doctor appointments don’t count as work so be honest about your time. If you discover more time, try spending it on pursuing ways to make your current employment more fulfilling, consider alternative careers or even spend it on other time-deficient areas. The time is yours so do with it what will brings you life’s satisfaction and purposeful work. Happiness follows when we are productive, purposeful, and honestly ourselves.
I find happiness is easier to achieve when I have help with mundane, household responsibilities. I consciously remind myself of how cleaning my house creates a calm, organized environment for my children to feel safe and comfortable in. Would I rather outsource that job? Absolutely! And we have in the past. But my husband is firm in his commitment to raising self-sufficient teens and keeping rooms dusted and vacuumed, bathrooms scrubbed, and laundry folded, neatly away is his way of helping them be grateful for what they have and responsible for continual upkeep. Yet looking at how much time I still spend making doctor appointments, weeding the garden beds, and food shopping, I do wonder how I can hire others to help. Vanderkam has someone do her laundry, but I’m not sure that will work for me. However, that’s a conversation my husband and I will have as we prioritize our time and finances to reach more of the life we want.
One of the eye-opening parts of this time makeover was ‘seeing’ that we do have more time for leisurely pursuits than originally thought. Most of us want more leisure time but when it comes, we don’t know what to do or instead, just veg on the couch. Instead, this is the time to pursue the hobby you’ve been putting off, joining the knitting group, book club, taking skiing lessons, playing the cello, or training for a half-marathon. This somewhat gifted time is really important to our overall well-being so make it happen….schedule it and don’t make an excuse to get rid of it! Will it be hard to change your habit of falling onto the couch after a long day at work? Perhaps. However, you’ll be amazed at how your happiness increases when you start making time to do meaningful activities that nurture your soul.
“Broadly, figure out what hours you would like to be working, sleeping, nurturing your family and friends, and nurturing yourself” (221). Take back your 168 hours to create the life you want and deserve. No shame. No guilt. Spring into change and refresh your life, one minute at a time.
the Essentialist Family 