How do you plan? Most of us are used to thinking in 24 hour blocks of time. But what if I told you that you actually have a 168 hour block of time to plan with? Really? Yes! This weekly planning mindset will blow you away.
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This post is Day #5 of our 25-Day Productivity Challenge! You can find the entire round-up HERE. Make sure you pin this post so you can find it later and don’t forget to take action!
Why You Have More Time Than You Think
My mind was blown when I read Laura Vanderkam’s book 168 Hours because (as the subtitle says) she showed how we really have more time than we think.
We tend to think of planning in 24 hour chunks, but this is inefficient and ineffective.
Instead, if you consider planning by the week (which dovetails nicely with our goal-setting by quarters, months, and weeks), then you’ll be amazed at how much time you really do have to work toward your goals.
Go ahead an do a little math equation to see how much time you have.
Start with 168 hours and subtract 56 hours for sleeping each week. This gives you a robust 8 hours a night!
Now take that 112 and subtract a full time job (or homeschooling hours!). This is 40 hours a week (8 hours a day), which is probably more than you’d need for homeschooling anyway.
You’re still left with 72 hours. Let’s have a little enjoyment. Go ahead and plan for two hours a day for either watching a movie or working on a hobby. That’s 14 hours for one week. You still have 58!
What if you have church services or other volunteer activities? Let’s take away 10 hours weekly for that so it’s a round number. Your number might be higher or lower. Still 48 left!
How about meal prep and housekeeping? What’s reasonable? 15 hours? I don’t know – I do all my shopping online these days and the kids do their own laundry. But for the example, we’ll just go with 15 hours.
What’s left? Still 33!
See what I mean? You can work on your goals for 10 hours a week and still have 23 hours left. Wowzers!
How to Plan with Your 168 Hour Time Block
I hope you’re convinced that you indeed have plenty of time to work toward your goals, plus get your responsibilities done, plus relax, plus work on hobbies, and more.
Now, how do you plan with these 168 hours? This is where time blocking and batching come into play. I hope you’ll join us for tomorrow’s challenge which will help you plan your 168 hours efficiently and effectively with time blocking!
25 Day Productivity Challenge Workbook
If you want a place to keep track of your progress toward increased productivity, then check out the 25 Day Productivity Challenge Workbook.
The 25 Day Productivity Challenge Workbook will give you video links with action steps to take to help you crush your goals!
