A is for Analyze: How Do You Spend Your Time?

4/1/2015

Welcome!

Welcome to the first post of the A to Z Challenge! My theme for the month of April is productivity. I'll be sharing some techniques, interviews, and productivity-related tips to help you make the most of your time.

Photo by Kenneth Hein

How are you currently spending your days? Do you have a good sense of where the hours go? One step to improving productivity is to track how you actually spend time (versus estimating it). In 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think, author Laura Vanderkam recommends tracking your activities for a week. You can monitor in 15 minute increments or make a note of the time when you switch tasks. (More on this later in the alphabet....)

I did this as an experiment in January. Here's a graph of how I spent my work time for that week. (I tracked sleeping, eating, running errands, etc but didn't want to bore people with that here.)

The time spent checking social media, reading blogs, and responding to email was a surprise. I realized too late that I shouldn't have lumped all of those activities into the same time bucket. Responding to email can be a legitimate, useful task, but looking at Facebook--not so much. The "work-related/non-writing" category covers items like researching potential festivals, updating my website, etc.

I did this experiment again in March to see if I'd improved by time distribution. Check back at letter D for the results....

You don't need to make a chart to analyze your time, but tracking it is definitely a useful starting point. What do you think you spend most of your waking hours doing?

Mars link

3/31/2015 07:50:09 pm

Hello neighbour on the list! You're the first person I've visited who has also started so yay \o/

I would hate to see how much time I spend checking social media, I know it's way too much and often goes in a loop with the sites I keep in touch with most... trying to cut down and think about my time this year... will be checking back in with you :)

Happy Challenge
Mars
<a href="http://curlingstonesforlegopeople.com/">Curling Stones for Lego People</a>

Yvonne V link

4/1/2015 12:57:47 am

Mars -- I know, social media is so tempting! Although visiting A to Z blogs is a good thing, right?! :)

4/1/2015 07:19:11 am

Yep A to Z blog visiting = good thing!

Mars xx

Pempi link

3/31/2015 11:14:29 pm

I am desperately trying to get on with a man sized jumper at the moment so I think a fair few hours are spent on knitting at the moment although I do combine that with watching catch-up TV. I know I do jump around from job to job and someone once told me you should stick with one task at a time to increase productivity but I do find that really difficult to do. Looking forward to your other posts :-)

4/1/2015 12:59:21 am

Pempi -- Knitting while watching TV sounds like a great idea!

Kaddu link

4/1/2015 03:28:46 am

You're right there, Yvonne... Facebook is perhaps the biggest "leak" today when it comes to time management. At times, I deactivate my Facebook account for weeks, and I get so much more work done during that period!
Looking forward to your posts. It's the first time I'm participating in A to Z. So far, enjoying it. :D

4/1/2015 04:35:57 pm

Kaddu -- Welcome to A to Z! I hope you enjoy it. I get more work done when I don't have an Internet connection.

Susan Brody link

4/1/2015 03:56:07 am

Great post, as always, Yvonne! I know I spend 5/7ths of my days sitting at a desk and ostensibly working, but I'd hate to keep track of how much of that time I spend checking the news and my personal email!

4/1/2015 04:36:52 pm

You should try tracking it. Secretly, of course.

keithsramblings link

4/1/2015 05:34:15 am

To be honest I'd rather not know! I'm pretty sure that today however I'll have spent every waking hour sitting here at my computer writing reading and commenting!

4/1/2015 04:43:11 pm

Today might not be the best day to track our time, Keith!

Parul

4/1/2015 06:31:11 am

Great Post and certainly encourages me to look at how I spend my time.

4/1/2015 04:48:09 pm

Hi Parul -- thank you! Leave your blog address next time and I will return the visit. :)

Patricia Lynne link

4/1/2015 07:23:14 am

My past few days haven't been productive, but I've been sick so I'm too tired and icky feeling to want to do much. Thankfully, I can do that right now. I'm ahead on my writing schedule.

~Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
Member of C. Lee's Muffin Commando Squad
<a href="http://storydam.com/">Story Dam</a>
<a href="http://www.patricialynne.com/blog.html">Patricia Lynne, Indie Author</a>

4/1/2015 04:49:24 pm

Patricia, it's great that you are ahead of schedule! Feel better soon.

Inderpreet Kaur link

4/1/2015 08:03:20 am

Social media is my nemesis too! Can't live without it or with it!!
Atleast you are addressing the issue, hope to read more.

4/1/2015 04:53:55 pm

Yes, more info and tips to come throughout the month!

4/1/2015 04:58:57 pm

I enjoyed your Indian authors post -- for some reason I couldn't leave a comment.

S. L. Hennessy link

4/1/2015 08:27:05 am

These days I think I'll be spending the majority of my time blogging haha.

Good luck with the 2015 A to Z Challenge!
A to Z Co-Host S. L. Hennessy
http://pensuasion.blogspot.com

4/1/2015 05:00:04 pm

Well, that is certainly true for many of us this month! :)

AJ Lauer link

4/1/2015 09:15:57 am

Hm yeah productivity. I just quit my day job to write so I am going to have to figure out what my new productivity looks like! Looking forward to your tips :)
~<a href="http:// blog.ajlauer.net ">AJ Lauer </a>
an <a href="http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com">A-Z Cohost</a>
@ayjaylauer on Twitter

4/2/2015 12:47:01 am

Congrats AJ! I think having unstructured time can be a challenge in its own way. Best of luck with the writing!

tara tyler link

4/1/2015 11:55:19 am

my time is out of whack... i get done what i get done =)
enjoyed your a day! and i'll be featuring you on "Y" day, sorry you have to wait! ha ha!

4/2/2015 12:48:03 am

Thanks for stopping by Tara. And hooray for "Y"! Thank you!

Donna McDine link

4/1/2015 01:39:21 pm

I actually submit a recap list to my boss at the end of each week as to what was completed and the progress of projects. He likes the running list since he travels so much and this provides him an easy reference. Good luck to my fellow Muffin Commando Squad member!

4/2/2015 12:50:41 am

The recap is a great idea, Donna!

vinodini link

4/1/2015 04:01:23 pm

Mine would take up 50℅ space for social media! Thanks for sharing this...what a realisation to wake up?! ;)

4/2/2015 12:52:04 am

Not that spending time on social media is a bad thing -- but I like knowing just how much time it is. :)

SHEETHAL link

4/1/2015 07:02:47 pm

That was a great post. How I spend the days mostly depends on my mood and of course my job. But if you ask me a day before I would be pretty clueless. ;)

4/2/2015 01:14:30 am

Sheethal -- Glad you liked the post! Thanks for stopping by.

Julie Fulton link

4/1/2015 09:50:52 pm

Great thought-provoking post. I usually blame my teaching work for reducing the amount of time I have to write, plus family commitments etc, but know deep down I spend a fair bit of time on social media.....I shall have to track my time as you suggest for a week and see what I find!

4/2/2015 01:15:22 am

Let me know how it goes, Julie!

Bronwyn

4/1/2015 09:53:54 pm

I know this is a smart thing to do, but I'm terrified of the results. First, because I'll have to admit the truth to myself. Second, third, and fourth, because I'll have to change my behavior. And fifth, because I probably won't change but I'll have this nagging voice in my head to do so. Other than that, I'm excited to do it.

4/2/2015 01:17:10 am

Bronwyn -- I know what you mean!

Saraallie link

4/1/2015 11:38:44 pm

That's a good idea!
I believe if I did that my time would be spent most on household chores and errands, blogging and social media, and tv family time at night! :)

4/2/2015 01:18:45 am

TV family time can be a good thing. :)

Betty link

4/2/2015 02:53:16 am

That was interesting to see where your time went as you analyzed it. I think I wouldn't have to analyze mine too much; I'm pretty predictable; these many hours of work, these many (too many) hours of blogging/Facebook, but I do manage to get what I need to get done and even sleep sometimes :)

betty

4/2/2015 04:55:19 am

It sounds like you have a good routine that works for you!

Shawn link

4/2/2015 08:38:34 am

Great article. Very good tip to really see how your time is spent. Works well for your money too :-) Thanks for sharing! This is my first year with A-to-Z. Finding many new and interesting blogs. Looking forward to more!

4/2/2015 12:08:40 pm

Shawn -- I'm glad you enjoyed my post. And congrats on joining A to Z!

roweeee link

4/3/2015 02:29:36 am

If I could keep myself and the family out of doctors' surgeries, we would rule the world.

4/4/2015 01:28:31 pm

Not a fun way to spend time. :(

Lauren link

4/3/2015 03:21:26 am

Love this! I am a believer in intentionality, yet when it comes to actually being/living intentionally - I totally fail (and not in an, "oh you're just your own worst critic" kinda way). I may need to try an experiment like this!

4/4/2015 01:30:27 pm

Let me know how it goes!

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