Every once in a while, we need a reality check, a clear look at how we really spend our time. Even if we feel like we “work all the time” or are “always so busy” or “never have enough time,” that doesn’t mean that the time we have is well spent.
This week, I want you to try an experiment. Make a bar graph of how you think you spend your time, using different colors for different categories, as follows:
BLUE—Your work, job, vocation, or education
YELLOW—Your self improvement, time alone, or meditation
RED—Your volunteering, community service, or helping others
GREEN—Your exercising or physical activity
PURPLE—Your socializing, getting together with friends, or coffees and lunches with others
BROWN—Your commuting, transportation, riding, or driving
PINK—Your family time, game nights, dinners together, or bonding experiences
GRAY—Your screen time spent online, Facebooking, Youtubing, Instagramming, texting, tweeting, Pinning, or reading blogs like this one
Once you’ve made your chart of how you think you spend your time, go out and spend a day, three days, or a week and pay close attention to how you dole out your hours. Track them, and at the end of your days, re-draw your color-coded graph.
You may be surprised by how you really use your hours in a day—how much time gets devoted to that Gray section of screen time, even amidst all your “busyness.” See how much of that Gray you can turn to a Yellow or Green or Purple or Pink—the more well-distributed your colors are, the more likely you’ll feel at peace, rested, and surrounded by strong relationships of the ones who love you.
At the end of the week, I’d love to know: what’s your favorite color?
As a speaker and author, Curtis Zimmerman has impacted over one million people with his life-changing messages and award-winning programs. Curtis is an expert at transforming organizations by inspiring individuals to live their lives at performance level.
Want to be inspired? Check out his podcast The Next 24 Hours.
