Where Does all of Your Time Go? ⏰

I’m a huge fan of Laura Vanderkam. I really enjoyed her book “168 hours” that explored time management and how to balance time. Time is the one thing we can’t get back, I believe it's more precious than money at times. 

I was excited to check out Laura's newest book “Tranquility by Tuesday”. In her book she shares nine guidelines to help you make the most of your time and enjoy your days, without having it be stressful or perfect. She had folks in her community actually log their time and apply the nine guidelines and the book is filled with rich examples on how the guidelines changed their habits and increased their happiness.

I wanted to share a few of my favorites because as entrepreneurs, we have more control of our time and it can be pretty overwhelming. I remember back when I first started my business I would work crazy hours and then burn out. This was a cycle that I repeated until a few people pointed out that I could try putting boundaries and limits and study how I spent my time (I realized I spent a lot of time in my inbox, not such a good use of my time!)

  
One Big Adventure, One Little One
 

Laura recommends spending an hour a week on a little adventure, that could be driving home a different route, walking around a new neighborhood, or exploring a new store. A big adventure is usually a 3 hour window spent at a festival, concert, gathering, hiking, etc. I’ve already tried to do both, especially during the lockdown time of COVID, when all of our days felt the same. I would explore different streets on bike or make an effort to go talk to a friend, even if I couldn’t go to their home. Now that events and activities are happening again, there’s no storage of ideas for planning adventures!

  
Create a Backup Slot
 

I’ve been blocking off my Mondays and Fridays to focus on my business days since 2022 and it’s made a huge difference in my productivity. Monday is a focus day and Friday is a catchup day. I can run errands around noon, etc. It’s important to not overbook yourself. Laura really recommends Fridays for catchup days and leaving it open = “plan tight, plan light”. Focusing on Monday and Tuesday for all of your high productivity tasks and then turning down the intensity for the rest of the week as your endurance lowers (I know mine does, especially each day after 4pm, my energy dips a lot)

 3x a week is a habit
 

Laura likes to point out that a more realistic approach to our week is to try and do something three times a week - especially if you think about weekdays and how even exercising three times a week can make an impact and is realistic. 3x a week is minor tweaks, not a lifestyle change such as working out, doing yoga, reading a book, cooking a meal, playing a musical instrument, and practicing a language. 

  
Effortful Before Effortless
 

Do a few minutes of effortful fun such as reading a book before scrolling social media or watching TV in the evening. Effortful activities can be drawing/painting, building a lego set, crafting, playing a board game, and many more. This struck me as such a smart way to have your cake and eat it too. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. People in the study reported that they were happier and more full-filled with their lives when they worked on effortful projects and reduced their TV and social media time. Paying more attention to your leisure time is very important. 

How do you manage your time with your business? What are some secrets that help you do what you want but also get things done?