15 minutes 4 me
on in the background when I’m working, but I could be doing more.Įven now as I’m writing this post, I’ve gotten notifications about new YouTube videos posted, email alerts and text messages. Sure, I don’t play music or have the T.V.
I’ve talked about this a lot on this blog, but need to get better at it myself. The point is, distractions are all around us and we need to do a better job at identifying them. Even though I didn’t show anyone my tracking sheet, this was still important to me for some reason. I’d have to write down how it took twice as long to complete a task. Tracking time gave me added accountability because I knew if I clicked on Facebook or responded to a text while working that it would slow me down. While I was tracking time in 15-minute increments, I kept noticing distractions but pulled myself back to the main task. Before you know it, you’re wondering how it’s already September or how the month went by so quickly. I think one of the biggest lessons I learned when tracking my activity every 15-minutes is that distractions are sneaky and can mess up the entire day. Distractions MUST Be Identified and Weeded Out Tracking time in 15-minute increments helped me realize that I wasn’t being too intentional with time or really planning out my schedule as best as I could.įorget the kids’ lunches a couple of dozen times and you’ll see there are a whole bunch of things you can accomplish in that 15-min short-spots. It’s okay if I just sit and watch YouTube for 30 minutes while I eat my lunch or talk to my sister on the phone for an hour during the evening so long as I plan it out. For me, that means thinking about what I’m going to do after work or during my lunch break. Consider choosing 1 to 3 things to tackle each day and plan out your downtime as well. Especially if you want to optimize the 24 hours you get each day. Getting clear on your priorities and planning out your time is crucial. I’m obsessed with planning and using calendar toolsbecause even though I have some negative thoughts about my schedule and available time, a calendar provides a much-needed reality check every now and then. This is why I love scheduling my time so much. A Calendar is Not an Option, It’s a Necessity This means you still have 42 left each week or 504 hours each year to spend doing whatever you want. 15 hours per week running errands and doing household chores.10 hours commuting to work Monday-Friday and getting ready for work (showering, making coffee, etc).When it comes down to the numbers, I do have enough time and you probably do as well.
I now know that they are thoughts and ideas based on emotion that shouldn’t be taken as pure fact. They are usually based on my overwhelm or perhaps even burnout. “My schedule is jam-packed and I never have enough time.”Īll of these thoughts often cross my mind throughout the day. Math is More Important Than Emotion in This Case Here’s what I figured out after tracking time in 15-minute increments for as few days. What most people are craving (myself included) is the freedom to feel like you actually own your time and can choose what to do with it – productive or not. I also found out that the whole weekend was gone. Still, I want to be intentional with my time whether that means planning out when I’ll take up a new hobby, cook a nice dinner for my family, or bum around on the couch and watch T.V. I don’t believe that you have to be productive every minute of every day to be successful. I’m the first to admit that I don’t always use my time so wisely. Earlier this year I started tracking time in 15-minute increments. We all have the same 168 hours each week. But what if you feel like your schedule is already jam-packed? Conventional advice says scheduling in exercise, self-care and at least 8 hours of sleep is important. Between work, household responsibilities, and everything else, it’s common for most people to feel like they don’t have enough time during the day.