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Have you ever wondered where your time goes?
We all have 24 hours a day, but we get to choose how we use those precious hours. Our calendar can give us a glimpse of where we spend our time, but so much time isn’t spent on calendar events. It’s those in between times where real life happens. It’s those moments when we cook, clean, read, shop, hang out with family and friends that add up and create the fabric of our lives.
The older I get, the faster time seems to fly by. The more full my schedule becomes, the harder it is for me to know what I do with my days. It all becomes a blend of countless tasks weaved between my Google calendar events.
I was curious what I really do with my time, so I decided to track what I do and log it for a whole week. I did this because I wanted clarity of what I really do with my life. I remember hearing this quote years ago by Annie Dillard,
“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”
Which makes me question my day-to-day living.
- Am I living my daily life well?
- Am I spending time on what matters?
- What changes do I need to make?
My everyday life matters. Those small moments make up the tapestry of my life.
It’s easy to live in survival mode, barely getting by. I’ve experienced this more times than I’d like to admit. Thankfully, I’m not in that season of just trying to make it to bed time. But my life is full. Navigating different responsibilities can feel like a juggling act, and I don’t know how to juggle.
My daily tasks seem to interweave together. I really can’t put a finger on how much time I actually spend on making meals, homeschooling our kids, working, and so on.
I’ve never tracked my time before. So, I conducted a personal experiment. I documented everything I did every half hour for an entire week. Basically, I was doing a time audit to discover what I’m really doing with my time (and my life).
My goal was to try to live as normal as possible, without trying to up my productivity. Yet, I still felt the strong urge to do more, (and let’s be honest, make myself look better on paper).
My week-long experiment gave me several aha moments. Here are some of my biggest takeaways from my time audit:
1. We aren’t meant to clock our hours.
It’s not natural. I felt kind of like I was on a diet tracking calories. It’s just not sustainable for the long term. I kept thinking in the back of mind that I need to track every little thing. I’m glad I was curious and have data of what I did with my time, but it’s not something I could do or want to do on a consistent basis. This week, I really recognized my own desire to feel extremely productive, and it isn’t healthy. My worth isn’t based on what I do. Experiencing ‘unproductive’ time isn’t a waste of time.
2. Every week looks different.
This past week really wasn’t a great reflection of reality. I golfed for the first time, celebrated my dad’s birthday, baked nine loaves of sourdough banana bread, and went to a funeral. That isn’t normal, or at least my normal. The fact of the matter is that there is never a perfect week to clock my hours. Each week brings on unique challenges. If I really wanted to get a good picture, I’d need to track multiple weeks.
3. Time can feel fast and slow.
When I’m doing something enjoyable, time seems to evaporate. But when I’m doing a task I don’t love, it seems as slow as molasses. I didn’t really have a good gauge of my time before I conducted my little experiment. When I actually clocked the time spent, I was surprised. Washing dishes took a short amount of time, yet to me it felt a lot longer. Timing my mundane tasks was actually freeing. I realized that I’m making them feel more laborious and longer based on feelings not reality.
4. I was spending too much time on some things.
I noticed that I was spending too much time teaching my daughter spelling. I never looked at the clock, but when I started to pay attention, I had the realization that something needs to change. I was so focused on finishing a lesson a day and getting through the material. I figured this out on the first day of tracking my time, and adjusted. That’s a win. Moving forward, when I think something is taking too long, I’m going to start tracking how long it actually takes.
5. I recognized I wasn’t making time for some things that I wanted to.
I’ve always wanted to make working out a priority, but I don’t. I worked out twice in the week at the gym. I only went the second time because I noticed I kept putting it off, even though I really wanted to go. I haven’t been prioritizing exercise because I feel like I have so many other things on my plate. To be honest, I feel selfish for taking the time out of my day to go and workout, but I recognized this week how much better I feel when I do work out. I really do need to make it a priority, because it helps me to show up better for the rest of my life. I also noticed that if I don’t workout in the morning, it rarely happens later in the day.
6. Evaluating my own priorities.
I ended this weekend by going to a funeral. When sharing the meaningful memories of someone’s life it’s usually the little things that matter, blowing kisses, going to every game, cheering them on. Eulogy virtues and resume virtues are very different. Eulogy virtues are the positive words people say about someone at their celebration of life. Resume virtues are the list of skills, awards, and experience you’d put on your resume. But what matters is not the fancy title, the paycheck, how quickly you move up the corporate ladder. It’s how you live your life. I left that funeral reminded of how short life is. Then we visited my mother-in-law’s grave across the street. I was reflecting on her life and the way she made me feel.
I was left asking myself,
“Am I focusing on the right things? Am I being fully present? What qualities am I focusing on: resume virtues or eulogy virtues?“
This week-long experiment was enlightening. I discovered more about myself than I expected. It wasn’t easy, but it gave me clarity and a starting point to reflect on my life and my time. I want to be intentional with the time, money, and resources God gives me.
When I help someone with their finances, the first thing we work on is gaining clarity. Once they have clarity, it makes it so much easier to take the next steps. That’s exactly what I did with my time. It’s like I put on prescription glasses to truly see where my time goes. I didn’t recognize how blurry my vision of where my time was going until now. Sometimes, I just need to step back and audit my life, so I can take the next steps forward.
If you’re like me and don’t know where your time is going, conduct your own little experiment. Write down what you do for a day, a week, a month, and reflect on your findings. Clarity is powerful and life-changing. And if you’d like to get clarity of your financial life, I’d love to help you through that process. Schedule a no-pressure, free 20-minute call with us to see if coaching would be a good fit. We’d love to help you be intentional with your money.
