You have more time than you think
If you had 33 extra hours each week, what would you do with it?
Welcome to this week’s edition of Positively Powerful, a newsletter about the journey of becoming your most interesting, happy, and powerful self.
“We are just trying to make sure the kids survive from morning to night.”
Many parents with small kids will recognize the feeling. It's that time in parenting life when you have to be the engine that pulls the family forward. Without your constant attention, everything stops. There’s always something to do, always a list of tasks that vie for your attention.
It’s so damn difficult to get anything done when you step on Legos wherever you go.
For many years now, I’ve been fighting a silent battle for my time. I never have enough of it to follow my dreams. Then, one beautiful day, I watched a YouTube video that gave me an idea: Why don’t I just map out my time?
Assuming most of us are eventually ending up in the ground, it’s fair to say that time is the world’s most valuable resource.
All of us, children and billionaires alike, have the same 24 hours each day.
In a week, that makes 24* 7 = 168 hours.
I want to introduce you to my imaginary friend Cleo. She does everything right—practically a perfect specimen of a human being.
Let’s (non-creepily) follow her around for a week to see how she spends her 168 hours.
First, Cleo needs her body to function well.
She spends 8 hours each day on sleep-related activities:
168-(8*7) = 112 hours left.
She uses 2 hours per day for buying, cooking, and eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner:
112-(2*7) = 98 hours left.
Cleo exercises for 1 hour every single day. Cleo, who even does that?
98-(1*7) = 91 hours left.
Now, Cleo likes animals, but she’s not about to start a farm - and she’s definitely not hunting for food.
So, she needs a job.
She works for 8 hours every weekday:
91-(8*5) = 51 hours left.
She enjoys slow mornings, spending 1 hour every workday to get ready.
51-(1*5) = 46 hours left.
Her 1-hour total commute each day is a drag, but she likes how the trees dance across the landscape in the train window.
46-(2*0.5*5) = 41 hours left.
Not only that, Cleo is also a caring person.
Every Sunday, she takes about 1 hour to channel her inner Marie Kondo - cleaning, organizing, and planning her next week, smiling as she breathes on each of her plants.
She spends 2 hours a week talking to and visiting family.
4 hours a week, she is with her friends (she’s a great listener).
And who would have guessed? Cleo volunteers 1 hour a week teaching astrophysics to kids.
41-1-2-4-1 = 33 hours left.
No way!?
I think it’s safe to say that most of us are not doing as well as Cleo. She’s doing everything you are supposed to. Taking care of herself, her work, and the people around her - ticking all the boxes.
And with 33 hours left, she’s got time to get another job if she wants to.
When I first did this exercise, it blew my mind. Here I am, struggling to get time for even the basics, while Cleo is masterfully juggling all responsibilities and still having time left to start a business.
This started my journey into understanding how I spend my time, learning about the value of focus, and eventually being able to be kinder to myself. I acknowledged that being a parent is time well spent - just as well as exercising or working on that dream project. Even if it means cleaning up the same toys for the third time today.
If you are interested in learning how I’m able to stay focused on the most important things, then read my previous newsletter here:
The truth is that each and every one of us has different realities that we have to live with. Most of us are dying from the thousand paper cuts of following social media on our screens. Some of us have been given responsibilities that eat up all our extra time. Some of us are stuck in our own heads, unable to get going.
But I am positive that, if you pay attention to your attention, you can reclaim your time.
So, let’s pay attention to our time next week.
Where do your 33 hours go?
Until next time,
Mattis
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And as always, send me an email at mattis@pp.news if you have any questions, ideas, comments, or feedback ❤️.
Incredibly insightful! It’s eye-opening to realize how much time I spend on tasks that don’t truly add value. Unlike Cleo, I feel like I have far fewer than 33 hours left in my week and still have less quality time/tasks then her. Seriously, where is all my time going?