We all know that there is only so much time in a day and because work takes up so much of your waking hours, we have to prioritize which activities we choose to do and which ones we choose not to do. For some reason… I feel like right now I just don’t have enough time. Maybe I am sleeping too much, maybe I can improve in some ways much more than I currently have, but I just feel like there is not enough time to do what I want to do while working full time. And until that full-time job situation is taken care of through financial independence I have to look at what it is I spend my time on and really how much time do I actually spend not just doing the activity itself, but the entire process of time I take in preparation or after the activity. So really I need to take a hard look at myself and ask if I value how my time is spent. With 168 hours to account for each week, I should be able to really look at this time at see if it is being spent wisely and if it truly is with what matters. So if you are dying to know how I spend what I consider my most valuable resource, look no further!
Where I spend my time now
Sleep
All the sleep in the week comes in at the top, with about 52.5 hours. Usually I get about 7 and 1/2 hours in this realm on week day nights and probably about the same on weekends – sometimes less, usually not more (unless if I get consecutive days in a row with less sleep). Could I get a better value for my time in this area by cutting out a half hour a day on average or is it better for my long term health for trying to consistently get over 7 hours?
Work
Without regards to sleeping, working full time takes up the most time BY FAR. In the mornings I get up usually around 6:20 AM and head off around 7:00 AM to not return until usually around 4:30 PM depending on when exactly I get out. So with a typical 5 day week this whole process takes up usually at least 50 hours. The wife and I get our meals together the night before, but really we would be getting something together to eat whether or not we will be working so I won’t count that time specifically as work. I guess I can improve in this area by being more mindful of the time to try to get out right at 4:00 rather than my typical 5 to 15 minute delay, every little bit counts right?
Blogging
I’m not sure exactly how much time is spent in this realm and it probably be good for me to track my time for a week to verify what I believe is true in all of these areas. But currently I spend at least 6 hours a week just on articles that I complete, probably another hour or two checking on the blog (comments, traffic, all of that stuff), then a good amount of time reading other articles… like I could be in the middle of writing an article while glancing at other blogs and just drift off reading… so I could easily say I spend another ten hours (or more) in this realm weekly reading and commenting, if not more. Also time on twitter and time spent starting drafts and putting ideas down for future articles, so probably another two or so in that realm. So all together my guess is that I spent about 20 hours a week blogging.
Church
Church itself doesn’t eat up alot of time usually, between travel and service time usually about 2 hours a week. But then you add in Wednesday night we spend another 2 to 2 1/2 hours a week with that. Plus we have some daily reading now for Wednesday night, not alot, but by the time you get started, read, discuss whatever there was to discuss it is easily another half hour per day if not longer. So in total this area adds up to about 8 hours a week… and it is actually an area I feel I need to increase because I don’t really read enough.
Personal Finance
Ok, if you haven’t noticed, I am a spreadsheet guy. I also like to run personal calculations on tax forms to see how things would turn out if I changed how I contributed to accounts tax wise. Yea, go ahead and call me weird, but I like doing that. So doing that and tracking, plus trying to look into stocks for investing… that takes time. I am thinking the biggest way I can improve here is to just record transactions once a week plus the end of the month. Another good thing is what I do in this category and often be used in some way for producing blog content, such as my Savings Rates. But things like Net Worth I wouldn’t have calculated on anything other than an annual basis previously so that doesn’t necessarily save me time in that area. Another thing… once I get a system in place to evaluate stocks that will save time, I have some stuff in the works and alot of key things I am looking for, but still tweaking it before I post about that. One thing that cross my mind is that… it is definitely more time efficient to invest in index funds. And it is tempting… but I do like the income aspect of dividend stocks. You could argue that an index fund provides dividends, but it only does because SOME of the individual stocks do. Anyways time spent in this realm… is probably too much… if I would take a guess I would say at least 6 hours a week, but I think I may spend more time in this area. Hard to say with how the time blends with blogging, I could also be double counting.
Exercise
This is another area in which I need to do more of. Last week I think we only went on one bike ride, a bit of a longer one about 8-9 miles, but still I need to exercise more consistently and do some weights. I should be spending at least 2 and 1/2 to 5 hours a week in this area for a good healthy balance. Doesn’t sound like much, but when you add in time getting changed and getting water and showering after you can add a good 15 to 20 minutes after exercising as well.
Cooking-Eating-Dishes
This eats up (see what I did there!?) alot of time. Just yesterday for example when I started working on this post after work I had to stop to get dinner going. Stir fry so after I got the meat going, I had to start cutting up veggies and getting those all ready to go in after the meat was cooked. So I spent a good 40 minutes actively working on getting dinner ready and I had to stop in the middle of writing this post causing it to take more time. Plus then dishes, I don’t do them every night, but twice during the week and both weekend days is the norm. Add in a good hour for that whole process and putting stuff away you are talking a good 8 and a 1/2 hours a week in this area between cooking and dishes. Eating isn’t too bad, usually that is time spent with the wife while we either watch something or play a card game during dinner. You might think 30 minutes a meal for cooking sounds like alot… but not really. Sure sometimes after I get everything in the oven I can walk away, but alot of stuff you can’t. This weeks meals included a Roast, in which you think there wouldn’t be much prep but I sear the roast before putting it in the crockpot. Helps keep in the moisture for a tender roast. So that plus getting the carrots peeled and everything in there is still like a 1/2 hour. Yesterday’s dinner I mentioned already. Tonight’s is Alfredo which is fairly quick, but I can’t leave the room with a boiling pot of water. Wednesday is Turkey burgers with some potato slices. Total time for that is about a 1/2 hour, kind of inactive once the potatoes are in the oven, just a couple of flips on the burger and cheesing it – so not too bad and I can do something during cooking. But I also make my own pretzel buns, which take time as well. But really it is hard to get a dinner or any other meal together with less time invested than a 1/2 hour. There are a few things, but we like variety so we don’t feel like eating out. So I think this category… including eating meals at home is probably around 12 hours. Some areas to improve? Well batch cooking can save time here, which we do with some stuff like taco meat. Another batch type item this weekend I plan on making is pulled chicken, that will provide a good number of lunches with the meat.
Time with Family
Usually time spent with wifey at home, but we like to visit with family on weekends. Lately we haven’t, we have had other crap going on, but look forward to doing so in the future. We don’t always get time every night to spend together, but I would say we do usually 10 hours a week easily either spending together or with other family members.
Wasting Time / Video Games
Somehow I still find ways to waste time in this realm, but usually if I do it starts later in the evening then cuts into my sleep. For instance on Sunday I had some down time while we were waiting to go some where, so I was playing temple runner 2 on my deactivated smart phone. Well I was doing pretty awesome if I would say so myself, so I paused it when we left and continued later that evening. Well… that run took for freaking ever because I was still doing good. I spent probably 2 hours that day playing on my phone, but at least I set a new personal record, right? Come on temple runner fans, is an 80 mil score legit or what? Anyways I honestly don’t find too much time to waste in this area since I started blogging, but I still probably get about 2 hours a week somehow.
Personal Care & Shopping
I plan before shopping… which I guess is more related to personal finance and I probably consider that part of that realm. So the shopping trip is usually quick because we know what we want, spend maybe an hour-ish total time. That and a good 15 minutes to a half hour on week nights depending if I shower or not… you could say I spend a good 3.5 hours in this area weekly.
Misc House Chores
Ya know, weekly trash and mowing… it really is about an 1.5 hours (which is the amount of time left in a week!). So that wraps up my total to 168.
The Problem
If everything went exactly how I stated above I would be OK. The problem is for one, I don’t often exercise as much as I should so that time is being spent elsewhere. I know I usually spend more time hanging out with wifey and family than 10 hours… so maybe some time there. Computer time is kind of hard to distinguish between blogging and working on my own finance stuff, I may be overstating between the two slightly as to how much time I put in this area. The biggest problem is that time is usually all “filler” time. So I am constantly starting and stopping working on stuff, such as having to stop in the middle of this post. It makes it ineffective and things feel like they aren’t getting enough time. The amount of time isn’t a problem, the quality of time is.
Other problems include when other crap comes up and disrupts everything. Like Saturday having a conference with church to go to. We got up early for a Saturday, went to the conference, then did our shopping, and we weren’t back until like 4 PM. Then I found some way to waste time for an hour or two because I wanted to get on the computer for a bit and answer posts, etc, then we got dinner going and dishes. The day just… disappeared basically. And when stuff gets added in… there is no time for it. Something else has to suffer and right now that seems to be our time spending with each other or other family and exercise. Also if I have a book I am reading that eats into time as well, but I usually let it dig into my computer time (blogging and personal finance).
The Solution
I am not entirely sure on the solution, I know a few things that I can do in a couple of areas to improve as I mentioned under the areas I spend time. If I were to switch to index funds rather than dividends it isn’t like I will see a free fall in free time, maybe just 1 to 2 hours a week… which really to invest properly I need to be spending more time. But as you can see I don’t have the time with the way I am currently doing things. I can do stuff on the computer in batches, but really when I am on here I might as well get stuff done so I can throw away receipts and such.
My biggest concern is how will I fit everything in time-wise when we have kids. Commutes will take longer with having to contend with daycare, plus caring for the child, etc.
Do you have any suggestions for time efficiency? Are there any glaring problems you see with how I spend my time?
Photo Credit: winnond / freedigitalphotos.net
Interesting breakdown of your time Kipp. Mine is fairly similar except that I sleep more. What I’ve found however is that my time is not created equal. I am far more productive and focused in the morning. On the weekend I typically get more done before 10:30 than I do the whole rest of the day. Definitely a morning guy. By the same token, I gave up writing blog posts at night because the quality just wasn’t there. My mind is mush by 8:30 or 9. Does anyone else notice similar patterns?
-Bryan
Hey Bryan,
Yea, I think I am more productive in the morning… as I said the quality of time spent in this area isn’t the best. Pretty sporadic. It just has to find in around everything else really!
I would sleep more except when I get up I usually can’t fall back asleep so I might as well get moving.
-Kipp
As the resident cook of the Frugalwoods Family, I’ll whole-heartedly endorse the idea of reduced time spent on cooking. Here’s how a week might go:
Breakfast: Oats, cinnamon, dash of salt and sugar. Probably 3 minutes total prep.
Lunches: On Sunday I batch cook all of our lunches for the week (rice and beans). This takes about 40 minutes of active time, 1.5 hours total including simmering the beans and portioning out individual servings into our lunch containers. But then all week lunch is “grab and go”.
Dinner: Weeknights is super simple. Last night we ate homemade hummus (5 minutes prep) with cut up veggies. Other nights I’ll sear a protein and put it over greens with some homeade dressing (15 minutes). I never spend more than 20 minutes making dinner during the week. Usually I can unload/reload the dishwasher while doing it.
Weekends: If our schedule allows, I spend more time making fun meals. I’ve been known to spend 4 hours crafting a dinner… which I love to do! On the weekend it counts as hobby time
Hey Mr. FW,
I counted weekday breakfasts in prepping for work really. Just a quick bowl of cereal while getting ready. Lunches we typically make a meal that yields leftovers, so that helps there! 20 minutes doing weekday dinners, man that is efficient! Maybe we need to make more batches or rethink our week night meals? On a note, mostly I cook because I get home first. It just makes sense. Weeknights not always, depends on what we are having, but usually I like to help out.
Do you throw EVERYTHING in your dish washer? I don’t throw in pots and pans or utensils. Maybe I should put more of those in the dish washer to reduce cleaning time?
I throw almost everything in the dishwasher. Pots and pans included. The only thing I don’t put in there are my nice knives.
It just saves so much time, and it reduces the friction of cooking. When I didn’t have a dishwasher I cooked less often because doing dishes was a drag.
Well, I will have to start trying that probably with the less dirty pans first… obviously on the pots and pans cycle I would presume. Obviously there are a few things that can’t be put in the dish washer, but most things are typically dish washer safe.
I have found that it is much harder to prioritize as I get older. Between work and taking care of the house and kids, I don’t have a lot of time left. Unfortunately, my relationships tend to suffer sometimes because of that.
As I mentioned that was my biggest concern, when we have kids… how is that going to fit in? All my time is used up now!
No suggestions for efficiency from me, but I sympathize with the problem. I’ve added up all the things I want/need to get done in a day and I definitely come up short on time – and then add the unpredictable nature if kids to the equation, and… Well, that’s why I have a mouse problem
Yea, kids I am sure would be great – just need to be prepared for many changes whenever that time comes – including lack of time!
When I’m working on the computer writing or reading I make sure I turn off e-mail notification. I try and stay focused on the task at hand. I find if I get interrupted by an incoming e-mail it takes me down the rabbit hole. I only play games after my higher priority items are done, use it as a reward to completing the other things I need to get done. I think the first step is writing all you time down on paper, maybe actually track your time for a week or month and try and look for inefficiencies.
Hey Brian,
I was thinking about tracking my time. Better to start on a fresh week or month, but I don’t expect it to be too far off from what I listed in the article. I do need to avoid those rabbit holes… I just get on here and open up one thing after another!
Like Mrs Frugalwoods suggested, one way is to cut down on meal preparation time. I think it’s very important to sit down and have meals together.
Maybe look into spending less time in front of the computer and TV and use that time for something else. As a new parent I can tell you that your sleep time will greatly reduce once you have a baby.
TV time is usually just during meals or slightly after while finishing an episode or a movie. You see my “relax time” is doing stuff like blogging, reading, and other computer stuff. Maybe I spend too much time doing it, but for now I am committed to this blog – so therefore I don’t see much room to remove time there unless if I improve my efficiency. Now the wife’s “relax time” is watching TV… and she prefers to watch stuff together, but sometimes I will be on the computer while she watches something. She will turn some of her time into productive time like folding laundry while watching an episode of something.
Yea… meal prep time… it must be the choices of what we eat that takes awhile. We like the variety though, we find that we do not really have a high desire to eat out at all when consistently making a variety of food BUT we can probably still achieve a good balance by making larger batches and having the same thing maybe a couple of nights a week.
Oh I am sure sleep time disappears when having a kid! We have one niece (over 4) and one nephew (less than a year) and yea… that seems to be one of the many things you hear is that you will lose sleep when you have a kid!
I think blogging is taking up too much of my time nowadays. So I’m aiming to only write one post per week. It’s difficult to constantly come up new materials in such a short period.
It sure looks like you have a lot on your plate. Good luck!
I don’t find alot of difficulty on the material side yet, I do find difficulty in having enough time to materialize all my thoughts and trying to do at least a little research on topics.
As you may have noticed… I haven’t been visiting other blogs AS MUCH lately, still trying to hit up everyone on my blogroll at least weekly though!
I think everyone has the same problem – a lot to do in not a lot of time. I think whatever your personal situation may be its best to keep time wasting things to a minimum if possible – I find you tube is the worst for this as well as social media
Facebook was always just a filler for me between stuff in college, I am truly not interested in it. Even for this blog, I have no motivation to go on there and update my latest stuff. Oddly, I am not having that problem on twitter. *Shrug*.
Yea Youtube can be a time killer… don’t remind me of those HISHE videos, or Honest Trailers, or Epic Meal Time’s, or Epic Rap Battles, etc! But hey, it is cheap entertainment!
It’s interesting to see how you spend your time, Kipp! We have quite a similar pattern, but that shouldn’t be too surprising given that we’re both working full-time and both have to sleep.
I used to have more than enough time to do everything I wanted – even with a full-time job – but ever since I started blogging I feel there aren’t enough hours in a day anymore. I wish I could spend more time working on my blog because I have so many ideas, but that’s the way of things, I guess.
Also, fun fact: my retired grandparents also constantly complain they don’t have enough time… “Too many dinners and parties to go to!”
Hey Thomas,
Yea I knew blogging would take up a decent chunk of time, I guess I didn’t realize how much “free time” I had until I started blogging and now it feels like there is none. But the problem for me is I need to keep on a schedule, such as my Tuesday and Thursday postings. If I didn’t have that schedule and tell myself “Kipp, you gotta stay up and finish a post tonight” I might not do it. It is good motivation and you can really learn alot in this community and even from some of the responses to your posts. Maybe not as much when you are bigger and start getting trolled, but I pretty much just have bloggers posting (besides those spam ones of course).
Heh, I think my retired neighbors across the street have the same problem as your grandparents. I constantly see their cars coming in and out when I am home! Although when I was talking to them the other day, they basically eat every meal out except MOST breakfasts are at home… crazy!
You don’t waste a whole lot of time, so that’s great! The way I get the most out of my time is by scheduling everything. I seriously mean everything. I schedule writing, lifting weights, running, reading, family time, date nights with my wife, story time with my kids, household chores…everything.
I have found that if I put it on my schedule, it gets done. If I don’t, I will forget about it or do something less productive. I use Google calendar, so it links to my wife’s phone. We always have our entire week planned out, so we always know what to expect. Occasionally, something comes up, but most time, we stay on track.
I enjoyed reading this article. I love seeing where other people spend their time and learning from you!
I would have to agree that scheduling helps. It will force you to be productive when you are on a task, like my time now on the computer. If I only allotted so much time to write a post, reply to comments, and check out other blogs, I probably wouldn’t have went over to google anaylatics or adsense and checked on those. I probably shouldn’t anyways, word press gives a little notification when I get a spike in traffic anyways so maybe I should just look at it when something major is going on like a link from Dividend Mantra or Rock Star Finance… although it is good to look at to give shout outs for the support from other bloggers, but I can leave that for weekly wrap-ups. Don’t need to do that every time.
Anyways, on the scheduling part, just scheduling meals has made a HUGE difference for us. Less “what do you want to have tonight?” and less eating out, and less weight! Less sometimes is MORE!
Ugh, I’ve been struggling with this big time here as we work to try and get all of the fruits and veggies canned and preserved. I wish I had advice for you, but I don’t. I would say though that you shouldn’t feel bad for cutting out things that may be at the bottom of your list. That’s one thing I’ve learned as I’ve gotten older.
Good points Laurie, and yea I can imagine that the canning process takes alot of time ALL AT ONCE! I actually took a day off today to start staining my deck that way the entire weekend isn’t gone from it!
As a stay at home mom who doesn’t have to do the 9-5 I can still attest that there’s not enough hours in a day. I think that a lot of the stuff we think we should be doing is bust busy fluff though, so I try to be happy with what I do accomplish in a day. Kinda like optimizing a budget I guess.
Hi CheapMom,
I agree that it is kind of like optimizing a budget. Yea there is alot of fluff, like tonight while I was on getting a post ready for tomorrow, sure enough about 15 minutes when by with random surfing and reading posts. Well, it is nice to go and visit other blogs and read up what is going by, but I need to keep on a schedule somewhat too as well – otherwise the next thing I know it could be 11 PM and I still need to get lunch together for the next work day!