Take back your time 2020 - Mind your hours

Want to spend time better? Figure out where it’s going now

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is the first in a five part series
on how to take control of your time in the
new year. This week, I'll be talking about five strategies

(00:24):
that I know will help you feel less busy and
get more done because they've definitely helped me. The first
strategy is to figure out where the time really goes.
When people tell me they'd like to spend their time better,
they often ask what's the first thing they should do,
and I say, it's to figure out where the time
is going now, Because if you don't know where the

(00:47):
time is going now, how do you know if you're
changing the right thing. Maybe something you thought was a
problem really isn't. Maybe something you've never even considered is
taking far more time than you imagined. Like any business decision,
it's wisest to work from good data, and the best
way to get that data is to track your time.

(01:08):
Ideally for a week. This first full week after the
holidays is an excellent time to start. I'm tracking my
time this week as our many listeners, and I invite
you to enjoin us. There are lots of tools you
can use. You can visit my website Laura Vanderkam dot
com and sign up to be sent a time tracking
spreadsheet Excel or PDF versions. You can make your own

(01:31):
spreadsheet too, with the days of the week across the
top and half hour blocks down the left hand side.
Mine runs from five a m. To four thirty a m.
Because I find that's what I think of as a day,
but if you're an early riser or a late riser,
feel free to adjust that as you see fit. There
are dozens of time tracking apps on the market you

(01:53):
can use, or you can just jot down stuff in
a notebook. The tool itself doesn't matter. What matters is
that you do it. And I know time tracking can
be a pain, but I promise you, as someone who
has found it worthwhile to track my time for close
to five years now, it is worth it. Knowing where

(02:13):
the time goes has helped me spend more time on
what I care about while ditching things that I don't.
If you're listening to this on a Monday, awesome, but
if not, feel free to start on any day as
long as you keep going for the next sixty eight hours.
Make sure you include the weekend too. This is real time,

(02:34):
and knowing where this time goes helps you get a
holistic picture of your life. Don't just log work hours.
There's more to you than your job, and accounting for
your time outside of work can be the difference between
a life that feels like it's just work and one
that's more balanced like anything. Time tracking might feel awkward

(02:55):
at first. You might have trouble remembering what you did.
I like to check in three to four times a
day and write down what I've done since the last
check in. It might help to set an alarm until
you get into the habit and you don't need to
write down everything. I have not recorded every bathroom break
for the last five years. It's better to have a

(03:16):
general sense than to account for every minute. Also, if
you forget and loose track of a few hours, it's okay.
Just put in what you do remember and pick back
up where you can. Tracking one d sixty one sixty
eight hours is going to be more helpful than stopping
one day in, and some people find it helpful to

(03:37):
track with a friend. Or if you track for a
week and want to send me your log, I'd love
to see it. You can reach me at Before Breakfast
podcast at i hurt media dot com. But after you've
done a week, look at the log and see what
you think. What did you like? Let's celebrate that. What
didn't you like? Well, don't beat yourself up about it.

(04:00):
We all waste time, all of us. I know I
waste tons of time. My time log showed me that.
But the good news about recognizing this is that I
no longer tell myself a story that I am so
busy and have no time for fun. I mean, clearly
I do. I just need to think about how I
want to use this time and what kind of leisure

(04:21):
I would enjoy most. If you like numbers, you might
try adding up the major categories work, sleep, time in
the car, housework, Errand's family time, exercise, television, social media, volunteering. Reading.
What I've heard is you do and you might decide
that this wasn't a typical week, which is fine. But
I've learned over the years that there are no typical weeks.

(04:43):
Are deeming a day or week typical is really a
value judgment, not necessarily a statement about real life. As
an example, I used to think I worked about fifty
hours a week because well, my time log showed that.
But some of my time log us I only viewed
my uninterrupted weeks as typical. If I encountered a snow day,

(05:05):
a sick day, a holiday, a half day because of
an emergency, dentist visit, a broken furnace, or anything like that,
well I called those weeks atypical. Except in my life,
it turns out over the long haul that something will
happen more often than not. Best to know that so
we can make plans. Anyway, if you'd like to spend

(05:28):
your time better in the new year, please do try
tracking your time for the next seven days and then
let me know what you find. That email address again
is Before Breakfast Podcast at iHeart media dot com. And
in the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

(05:54):
I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod
that's b E the number four then Breakfast p o D.
You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Podcast at I heeart media dot com that Before breakfast

(06:16):
is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is
a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from
I heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.