[amazon_image id=”B0043RT8EU” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think[/amazon_image]

Review

• I read 168 Hours and I thought it was pretty good.

• For some reason, the beginning was harder to read for me.  I couldn’t read it while the kids were up, I had to wait until they were sleeping or until my husband was home to watch them.
• It got easier to read as the book went on.
• There were some really good points, but at times, I was wondering what this had to do with the point.
• I really like the blog and the worksheets from the blog.

My Time

I tracked my time for two weeks and here are my averages.  Of course it was not a typical two weeks (kids were off school some, etc), however, I looked at our calendar to see if we had any typical weeks coming up, and there were not any that I was willing to wait for.

I slept a little over 8 hours a night (so why am I still feeling so tired?)

I played on the computer/iPod a little over an hour a day.  (Not as much as I thought, nice surprise!)

I spent almost 2 hours and 45 minutes on hygiene & eating.

I spent about 20 minutes driving

I spent about 3 hours and 40 minutes taking care of my children’s needs.

I spent a little over 30 minutes a day on Facebook and checking out other blogs.

I read about 30 minutes a day.

I did housework for a little over 2 hours a day (really?  Why is my house not cleaner?)

I watched TV for almost an hour a day.

I blogged about twenty minutes a day.

I spent a little over an hour socializing (talking to family on the phone, talking to my husband, having family over to visit, etc.)

Miscellaneous activities (volunteering, concerts, kids’ soccer games, Mom’s Day Out, pictures, school conferences) accounted for about an hour.

(Not proud) but good, high quality time with my kids (snuggling, playing games, reading to them) (I was very picky on what I considered high quality time) only averaged about an hour a day.  🙁

Reflection

This book was good in that it gave me the idea and tools to really study how I spend my time.  It confirmed some of my feelings (not feeling like I’ve spent much time with my kids when I put them down to bed) and made me surprised that I wasn’t spending as much/more time as I thought on others.

What I really came away from this book was the fact that it’s all on me.  This isn’t new news to me, or should it be to anyone, but it really put in the fore front that it’s all on me.  I can read blogs and books about how to organize my time and get inspiration, but they can’t make me do anything.  They can’t make me get off the couch and spend more time with my kids.  They can’t make me delete e-mails instead of sitting down to play on the computer.  If it’s important enough to me, I will make the time to do it.

My focus is now on trying to spend my time purposefully.  This doesn’t mean, staying away from the computer or TV.  It’s about balance, just like everything else in life.  I want to spend more quality time with my kids, but I also need down time, to not have to think about anything.  I need to schedule my time (including down time) to be more efficient, and most of all, I JUST NEED TO DO IT!  (whatever that might be at the moment)!  😉

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