This post is from our regular Wednesday contributor, Erin.
We’ve been talking about time a lot lately – how to make the most of it, how to make more time for the things we love, and why it’s important to create some sort of schedule for yourself.
The premise is that time is sacred to us. We can never gain more of it. Once it’s gone, it’s gone, so it’s wise to spend your time as best as you can.
It seems like many of us are wondering where the heck 2014 went, and I’m no different. I think time speeds up the older you get. =) While it’s true that time flies by when we’re “having fun”, it can also pass by quickly when we find ourselves overwhelmed with things to do.
I thought it would be a good idea to approach time as we do our money. Most of us are familiar with budgeting, even if we don’t actively budget. When we’re in control of our money, we’re happier, aren’t we? So why not take back control of our time as well?
Let’s take a look at how we can apply the principles of budgeting your money to budgeting your time.
Track Your Time
Just as it’s important to track your spending, you need to track your time to figure out where it’s being wasted the most. Are you spending hours upon hours browsing social media, getting sucked into a game, watching TV, or (gasp) reading blogs?
Could you be doing more with your time? Probably.
Spend a few weeks tracking your time, and then look at the results. Do you see any patterns? Are you happy with how things look?
If not, change it! Optimize how you spend your time just like you optimize your spending.
You can track your time in categories, just like a regular budget. An example might be:
- Sleep: 49 hours
- Work: 45 hours
- Side Hustles: 20 hours
- Family Time: 20 hours
- Exercising: 15 hours
- Cooking: 5 hours
- Relaxing: 14 hours
- Total = 168 hours
Yours will probably look a bit more detailed, but you get the idea! This will give you a good overview of where you’re spending too much time, or too little time, and it’s a great starting point to managing your time better.
Are You Spending Time On Things You Value?
Another correlation between time and money – I urge everyone to spend on what matters most to them. If you prioritize retirement and travel, then you should be stashing away as much as possible toward both.
When looking at how you spend your time, do the same. Know that your time is valuable, and you should be spending it on things that also provide you with value.
Do you find yourself criticizing how much time you wasted on a certain activity? Are the things you’re spending your time on bringing you joy? If not, it’s time to cut them out!
For example, if you think you’re spending too much time on social media, and it’s not providing value to your life in any way, then get off it. Install a tool that limits your time browsing the web, or make a promise to yourself to only check your social media accounts once a day.
If you’re not sure if you’re spending your time in a valuable way, focus on your goals.
Do you want more time to spend with family and friends? More time to work? More time to exercise? Is the way you’re spending your time aligning with these goals? Realize that taking part in a “wasteful” activity equals time being taken away from your goals, and make adjustments accordingly.
Be Mindful of How You’re Spending Your Time
We should all aim to be conscious shoppers, but how many of us are conscious of how we’re spending our time?
I’m willing to bet you are – to an extent. Maybe you’ve thought, “I should really be doing X right now, instead of Y, but I’ll get to it in a few minutes.”
Or, “I just don’t feel like it right now. I’ll do it tomorrow.”
You can go further with this and also analyze why you choose to spend your time as you do. If you’re procrastinating, ask yourself why.
You should spend your time meaningfully, and with intent, for the most part. Even if you’re relaxing! Don’t default to sitting in front of the TV if it truly doesn’t make you happy.
I sometimes struggle with this – I’m not a TV person at all, but I do fall into the trap of relaxing on the couch while the TV is on.
Don’t shrug things off – the next time you decide to relax, do so in a way that makes you happy. Make a conscious choice when deciding how to spend your time.
Work Backwards and Make a Time Budget
There are fixed expenses and variable expenses in your financial budget; fixed expenses such as housing, minimum debt payments, insurance payments, cable, and so on. Fixed expenses stay the same, and they come first when creating a monetary budget.
Structure your time the same way. If you’re having trouble figuring out how much time you want to spend on each category, think of it in terms of fixed expenses.
Sleep should probably come first (like housing would for a financial budget), followed by work. Fit in your other commitments and interests around your biggest priorities.
For example, if you’re prioritizing spending time with family, and you want to spend at least 20 hours a week doing that, then make sure you get those 20 hours a week in, and schedule everything else around that. It’s almost like paying yourself first – you have to put time with your family first!
Budgeting Your Time Will Help You Say “No”
If something isn’t in your budget, you typically say “No” to it, right? If friends ask you to go out, but your restaurant spending is maxed, you’re going to decline their invitation. (Okay, maybe in a perfect world, but go with it!)
The end goal of budgeting your time is to help you manage your time better. If something that wasn’t originally in your time budget pops up, you can either decide to decline because you don’t have the time for it, or you can accept in place of another appointment you had already scheduled.
Let’s say your friends do invite you out, and you haven’t seen them in a long time. However, you’ve already scheduled time to take an online course to learn a new skill. You can either say no, or you can (hopefully) take a look at the course another time.
Just like you can move your money around, you can move your commitments and schedule around, too.
___________
I had actually never thought about creating a time budget before, but I’m curious to see the results! I have a feeling many of us are workaholics and can probably use a little more emphasis on sleep and relaxation. So many people say that it’s eye-opening to track their expenses, but I bet it’s just as eye-opening to realize how much time we’re dedicating to certain areas of our lives.
Have you ever audited your time before? Do you want to budget your time now? What are your tips for managing your time?
Check out some of our favorite personal finance resources:
Are you getting the best credit card rewards? Check out the top cash back credit card offers (updated daily)
Make extra money: 15 ways to make money from your computer
Get the First Chapter Free!
Join our online community and get the first chapter of the book Student Loan Solution absolutely FREE!
I have to admit that I really need some help when it come to budgeting my time. I found what works for me is to sit down and plan my days the night before. If I don’t do it there is no telling what my day is going to be like. Thank you so much for the tips.
Your post is a timely one for me. I have started to make changes when it comes to time allotment. I want to live more simply and that desire also extends to my work schedule. For the moment, it is a work in progress but I am making headway.
I’m so going to create a time budget! We’ve become ruthless about prioritizing our time and I’m really pleased with the changes it’s brought to our lifestyle. We hardly watch TV anymore and we’ve become extremely efficient in our housework, cooking, and chores. We really try to allocate our time to the things we value and it’s awesome to see the result. That being said–I think we need to get more sleep… and so, to the time budget I will go! Thanks for this idea, Erin!
I had never thought of making a time budget before. Now that I know about it, I can’t un-know it. Thanks for adding to my already long, scroll-like list of OCD’s, Erin! :P
Yes! I love this. Not only do I do this, but I’m actually now engaging in an activity where I have listed out my most precious values (I have 14) and I am tracking how I spend my time, energy, and money for a week. At the end of this week I’m going to see how my time, energy, and money align with my values. That is to say, whether I’m allocating my resource to what I find most valuable. If they’re not aligned, I’m going to see where I can insert things that I value more. I think mastering time management is one of the best ways to lead a successful life.
Nice post Erin! A time budget and audit is something I’ve been meaning to do for some time and putting off. I think that’s likely the case because I know I wouldn’t like the results. ;)
Great post! Once I realized that I was giving my money more attention than my time, I started budgeting both. I think your time is one of the most important things. We can’t get more of it, but we can create more freedom in it by budgeting time wisely.
Love this, Erin! I’ve never thought about budgeting my time in this way. Going to start today!
I’ve never take an official audit of my time because I think I do a pretty good job of balancing. I know when I’m “off” if I’m cranky, tired, overwhelmed, etc, then I sort of do a mental check of how I’m spending my time and try to get back in balance. I think one thing that has helped me is not saying yes right away to invites. I give it some thought because I hate having too many social obligations. PS, I really miss your blog Erin!! :)
I get upset whenever I look at how my time is spent! Not in a motivating way, though. More in a “good golly it takes ages to buy groceries” kind of way.
Debtfreemartini I do the same thing! I have an ongoing task list that I check in with at the end of the night, and I review it and make changes for the following day.
Kassandra @ More Than Just Money Glad to hear it Kassandra! It’s definitely a work in progress. How we want to spend our time will likely always be evolving (I know it has for me).
Mrs. Frugalwoods Happy to help! Sleep is a huge issue for me as well. If I can be working then, well, I’m working instead of sleeping. But that’s detrimental to the quality of my work, so I know it needs to change.
kay ~ lifestylevoices.com Haha, sorry, Kay! Hopefully it’s helpful. =)
theFinancegirl I hope you make a blog post about it, Natalie! I’d love to read it. I always find it interesting how others value their time. My fiance is perfectly fine relaxing when he’s not at work, as he values being able to unwind. I’ve never been like that!
Self-imposed deadlines are HUGE. If you want to get something done at work, schedule a meeting with your boss to review. Then guess what? You’ll get it done. If you don’t have a boss, figure out another way to hold yourself accountable.
FrugalRules You and me both, John! I can already tell I work a bit too much…but I’m hoping to stop putting it off in 2015.
MoneyMiniBlog Exactly, Kalen! Great way to put it. So many people are unhappy with both their financial situation and time situation, saying “I don’t have enough!” But there’s a way to create more.
Laurie TheFrugalFarmer Yay, glad I could inspire you!
Beachbudget I think you do as well, Tonya. I’m always envious of that. =) I do have a good sense of when I’m “off”, but my weakness has been working too much, and I’ve been saying “yes” a little too much lately. Time to prioritize! (Aw, thank you! I’ll be trying to post soon!)
moneypropeller Ha, funny you mention that, as I do tend to spend way too much time shopping for groceries, which is why I hate it. Most of the time I get upset as well, but I realize that if nothing changes, I’m just going to continue to be unhappy, and that’s enough to motivate me. I don’t want to be down about how I’m spending my days.
I have never done a time budget before and I’m not sure if I would like what I see, but that’s sort of the purpose, right? :) I have a tendency to try to cram too much into a day, although I have gotten better about saying “no” and reducing some of my commitments. There is just so much I want to say “yes” to but you’re absolutely right that we need to make sure we’re spending our time on that things that mean the most to us. That it what makes life fulfilling.
This is a great idea! I’ve never audited my time, but I’m sure if I did I would be shocked by how much time I waste….
I’ve never budgeted my time like that. I usually just so things. I need to track my time early next year to see if I’m wasting that much of it.
I have never consciously budgeted my time; however, when my workload gets crazy, I do find that I set specific schedules for things mostly to give my craziness order and to figure out if I can really accomplish what I need to get done when it needs to be done. I should do this more than when I am just in crazy mode, though.
I’ve never though of doing this, yet I’m always complaining about how I never have enough time. It’s crazy because I find myself on social media after the kids are asleep instead of doing something “productive”. Thanks for the tips.
I do not audit my time, but I started a maintenance schedule for my rentals where I am tracking calls. I will add the amount of time to it, so I can track that too. Not really a budget, not yet anyway.
Remember, you can sleep when you die. So, work hard.
Erin, I love your posts! :) I read somewhere, a while ago, about a manager who plans his workday starting at his end time (for example, 5 pm) and working backwards. So like, 4:30-5 pm is spent wrapping up emails, 3:30-4:30 is spent in a meeting, 2:00-3:30 is spent working on X project, etc.
I started doing the same at my work, and it’s been really helpful. Not only for sticking to a task, but also when it comes to writing up my performance reviews! I have to write a little summary (as does my boss), and keeping track of what I do on a weekly (hourly) basis really makes it easy to summarize my work product when review time rolls around. :)
Mark@BareBudgetGuy That’s very true, Mark. Whenever I commit to getting something done, I get it done, otherwise your word isn’t good!
ShannonRyan I have a habit of doing that as well, Shannon. It’s tough, especially when you think something is going to take a few minutes, and it ends up taking much longer! I’m realizing I have to schedule things further apart just to be more flexible.
SenseofCents Thanks Michelle! You should try it at some point.
Jason @ The Butler Journal Go for it! There’s nothing to lose.
blonde_finance I hear you on that, as I do the same. When I have less of a workload, I’m more inclined to take it easy and not schedule, but that does lead to more time being wasted.
DrSheba You’re welcome! There’s nothing wrong with checking up on social media if it’s something you actually enjoy doing, but if you do think you can spend your time more productively, it’s worth giving it a shot.
No Nonsense Landlord Sounds like you’ve got a good system down! If you have a good handle on your time (and some people do), then there’s not much of a need to go into great detail with a time audit.
sunburntsaver Thanks Melissa! Working backwards can definitely be efficient, and I love that you have specific hours you can refer to when it comes time for your review. Great tip!
Erin @ Journey to Saving Hmmm your posts have been more popular than my posts recently. My readers are turning on me. Just kidding ;)
I need a few more hours in the day. I tend to get up early if I need to get “extra” things done. I admit it- I am awful at budgeting my time. I am great at staying focused during the day but my evening “free” time disappears quite easily.
Great post! And great analogy. Many of us pf bloggers are frugal with money but that doesn’t translate when it comes to time. I definitely need to manage my time better. I don’t really budget my money either but I’m still good with not spending it…time seems to be spent whether or not I want to spend it! I just got to make sure I’m productive.
I SO need this. I wonder if there’s an app for something like that.
brokeandbeau If I could code I would totally make one. =) A quick search on Google turns up some results!
Andrew LivingRichCheaply Same here, Andrew. I think time and money really tie together in a lot of ways, but money usually gets more focus. I feel like “I don’t have enough time!” is equivalent to saying “I’m broke!” There’s ways to fix both.
Holly at ClubThrifty I think that’s the case for a lot of people, Holly! It seems like once we’ve been working full-time, evenings become our sacred “wind down” time, and it’s a hard habit to break out of.
brokeandbeau I just installed RescueTime which gives an accurate picture of how you are spending your time online. I know I get sucked in too easily with social media. For that, I also installed the Self Control app. It’s so terrible how hard it is to focus online!
I’ve done a time audit for a week or two at a time to see where I’m spending my time. I like using a word doc so I can elaborate. So much wasted time!
Wow I never thought of budgeting my time as way to have good time management! I work and go to school! I also have insominia so my timing is way off maybe having it all mapped out will help get myself in order
pfjenna That’s awesome you already have the practice down! It’s a great idea to keep a sort of journal to see where you’re at.
premar16 I can relate with insomnia/being a night owl. I was much, much worse with it in high school and college than I am now. Your sleep patterns can definitely affect your working capabilities!
Love this – it’s definitely something I need to start doing. I actually think one of my major goals for 2015 is going to be putting both my time and money where my mouth is – spending time and money on the things that I love (and therefore love talking about) instead of just letting time pass and my money get spent on random things.
skyvsworld That’s an awesome and worthwhile goal! I think if you focus on that, a lot of other things will fall into place. Managing your money and your time better tend to lead to more happiness.