Time Well Spent

2/3/24

With time as a precious commodity, it’s best not to waste it or not let it slip. How do we make sure we don’t waste it? The best ways are to figure out what our activities we value, create awareness with how we spend our time, and create a time budget.

 

Value activities

A value is “A person’s principles or standards of behavior; one’s judgment of what is important in life.” In the same way that we are all different, what we value will differ from person to person. How can we figure out what activities we value? The best way I've found is through journaling.

 

Journaling is a nice exercise because it focuses your mind and keeps you focused and on task. By taking the time to journal there’s only one thing that you do. It’s easy to not get distracted, and chances are you have a paper and a pen lying around.

 

Next, think about your past experiences. What times did you feel good about spending time on an activity? What times did you feel bad or regret spending time on an activity? By thinking through these situations, this helps us narrow down what we value. Write them down and create a list of the things you would like to spend your time on, and others that you don't.

 

Also, make sure that you don't allow yourself to only include work items for the things you want to spend time on. Allow yourself to include the things that relax you as well, like video games, movies, or naps. There are different ways that we all relax, and some activities work better than others.

 

By creating a list of what you like spending time on and what you don't, you are one step closer to budgeting your time in a way that matters most to you.

 

Unfortunately, even though we value something, it’s not enough. We need to be aware of how we’re spending time and make sure it aligns with our values.

 

Awareness

Most people would think that they spend time on the things that they value most. Unfortunately, this is not how we actually spend our time.

 

Americans on average spend 5 hours a day on their phone. This seems like a lot for one day, but let’s look at how this will affect us in the long term.

 

5 hours a day x 365 days per year = 1825 hours per year.

 

The average life expectancy is 80 years. If a teen received a phone at 16, then that means that the time that they will have their phone up until the day they die will be 64 years.

 

1825 hours per year x 64 years = 116,800 total hours spent on a smartphone.

 

116,800 hours / (365 days a year 24 hours in a day = 8760) = **13 years spent in total on a smartphone alone.*

 

Is spending time on your phone a core value? Whether it is or is not, it’s where the time is going and will be a reflection of what we actually value.

 

There will be a difference when other people or ourselves will look back on our own lives. It will not matter what we say we valued, but what we did will reflect our values more.

 

As an example, let’s say I value being in top physical shape, and yet I eat more than 3000 calories a day, live a sedentary lifestyle, and smoke cigarettes. In the future when I’m long gone it won’t matter what I said I valued, what I did will reveal what I actually valued.

 

This is why becoming aware of how we spend our time matters. Is there an easy way to become aware about how we spend our time? This is where a time budget comes in.

 

Time Budget

In the same way a money budget is a plan for how to spend it in the way you want to, a time budget works the same way.

 

The most common money budget is the 50/30/20 rule - meaning:

 

50% goes to your needs

 

30% goes to your wants

 

20% goes to savings/investments/debt repayment

 

In the case that you made $10,000 a month (for simple math), 5,000 would go to needs, 3000 would go to your wants, and 2000 would go to your savings.

 

The unfortunate part about all this is that while you can make more money to increase the amount that can go into each of these buckets, in a time budget you cannot raise the amount of time unless you sacrifice some of your needs (like work and sleep).

 

As an example, let’s start with the average American schedule - sleep for 8 hours every day and work for 8 hours every day.

 

If we subtract the total amount of hours per day (168 - (8 * 7) + (8 * 5)), that leaves 72 hours.

 

If they followed the time budget like a money budget it would be 36 hours of needs (spending time with family, chores), 22 hours of wants (video games, movies, naps), and 14 hours of investment (online courses, reading books, etc).

 

How would a person keep track of what they’re doing? Would they track their hours spent on needs, wants, and investments?

 

No. Like a money budget, pay off your needs, add to your investments, and then enjoy your wants guilt-free. That’s why I have a set number of hours during the week set aside for my investments (reading, programming, etc.) which I track through Flowmodoro. I focus on my needs and investments first, and when I can relax I do so.

 

Closing remarks

By aligning your values with how you want to spend your time, becoming aware of how you spend your time, and creating a time budget, you will have the freedom and flexibility to spend the time on the things that matter most to you.