Time. It’s the one thing that is absolutely the same for every single person in the world.

It doesn’t matter if you live in Africa or Arizona.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a CEO, pastor, janitor, or homeless.

Everyone has 24 hours. 1440 minutes. 86,400 seconds.

Time may fly by or seem like forever. But one thing remains the same. We all have the same amount of it.

One of the most frustrating statements is “I don’t have the time.”

Why? Because we all have time. It’s just a matter of how we use it. Priorities.

Something occupies your time. The challenge is defining what it is in your everyday life.

4 Revealing Ways to Determine Where You’re Losing Time Within Your Day

 

1. Log Your Time

Most people assume they lose very little time within their day. Until they measure it.

Once you know exactly where your time is going, you have incredible intel that is an absolute gift right there for you.

But you must track it. You can be as detailed as you want and the more detail you can provide the better.

I tracked a full week (seven consecutive days) of my time in two ways: non-travel week / travel week. Why? Because they look completely different and I want to know where my time is going.

WHEN you do this, I caution you to don’t adjust anything simply because you’re tracking it. You want an accurate view of how your time really is at this first stage.

Log it and move one.

Here is a link to a number of free time logs to track your time. Click Here.

2. Analyze Your Time

Logging your time is a great first step. It’s going to provide you incredible intel but it cannot stop there.

It’s critical you break this raw information down and let the facts be the facts.

When someone allows me to look through their day, it’s a vulnerable place. Why? Because there’s usually a lot of subjective, wasted time packed in that you’re just unaware of it until you log and analyze it.

The purpose of analyzing it is to allow you to see not how you want to use your time or even think you use your time but how you ACTUALLY use your time.

You may be very surprised and even embarrassed at what you find. But isn’t the point to have an honest portrayal so you know what to change?

This leads into what do to next …

3. Adjust Your Time

This is where it really matters. You’re in a small group if you log your time. You’re in an even smaller group if you analyze your time.

But if you do this critical action item of actually adjusting your time, you’re in an elite group who really want to make the most of their time and actually have the ability to change it.

Let me give you an example. You take your log of one week and with a red pen you take notes of all of your observations.

You notice all of the areas where time is not being used wisely. You also notice patterns. You seem to go off course at the same times each day.

This is how you begin to adjust your time.

4. Re-Write Your Time

What if you have a chance to do it over again? You actually do if you choose re-write your time.

You cannot go back and do yesterday all over again but theoretically you can learn from yesterday’s mistakes for a better tomorrow. How?

You adjust your time by noticing what you need to change (adjust). Then you re-write your time by creating your ideal day.

This is the concept of not just planning your day but answering the question, “if I had the perfectly structured day, what would it look like?”

Let me give you a personal example:

6:00am      Journaling / Bible Reading / Inspirational Reading / Vision Work Review

7:00am      Writing Time

8:00am      Workout (run or bike) – listen to an audiobook

8:30am      Breakfast / Shower

8:50am      Ramp Up – planning my day

9:00am      1st Focused Time Block

(note: a focused time block is a block of time dedicated to one project without interruption)

10:00am    Buffer Block – check emails / phone calls, etc

10:30am    Break

10:45am     2nd Focused Time Block

11:45am     Buffer Break – check emails / phone calls, etc

12:00pm    Lunch

1:00pm     3rd Focused Time Block

2:00pm     Buffer Break – check emails / phone calls, etc

2:30pm     Break

2:45pm     4th Focused Time Block

3:45pm     Buffer Break – check emails / phone calls, etc

4:15pm     Clean up

4:45pm     Cash Out – breaking down my day / prepping for tomorrow

5:00pm    Workout

5:30pm    Dinner

6:00pm    Family Time

7:30pm    Bed Time with the Kids – watch a show / read to them

8:00pm    Learning Time – read a book / work through an online course

8:30pm    Time with Wife

9:30pm    Ready for Bed

10:00pm  Bed Time

Let me remind you this is an ideal day when I’m not traveling. When I log my time I can see where I went off road and why.

Sometimes it’s for a good reason. Other times, well… This is my structure that allows me to maximize my day. It will look different for you.

Closing Challenge…

Time is relative. And what you do with it is completely up to you.

Motivated busy professionals must learn to find the leaks of time within their day and move from busy to productive.

And one of the most telling ways is in your use of time.

I challenge you to log your time for a week. Analyze your time to see what you do with it. Then adjust what you find ultimately leading to re-writing your time to what would be ideal to produce maximum results that reflect your values.

You will be amazed at the results if you commit to this exercise. Try me.

Closing Question…

Where are you losing the most time within your day and what are you going to do about it?