When people refer to resource management, it's commonly focused on money or natural resources. But is the other biggie - time - the most critical of all?
This chart from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is an overview of how Americans spent their time in 2016. How does your schedule compare?
A recent
TED Talk by Laura Vanderkam inspired me to spend some time thinking about, well, time. More specifically, how to mange free time most effectively.
Laura lays out the logistics, first -- there are 168 hours in a week. And, she asserts that for most, there really are enough hours in the day to get it all done. ". . . Time is highly elastic," she says. "We cannot make more time, but time will stretch to accommodate what we choose to put into it."
One of the takeaways from her talk (which is less than 12 minutes, if you watch - if not,
here's the transcript) - is to prioritize your personal life much as you would your professional, and - this is key - write down those priorities. "Pretend it's the end of next year, and it has been an absolutely amazing year for you and the people you care about. What three to five things did you do that made it so amazing?"
If you have implemented a time-management strategy that works for you, or are inspired to, we'd love to hear about it!
In the October 25th issue of Wellness Wednesday, we announced those who pledged to our FCSfit Pledge Wall by November 7th would be entered into a drawing for a book on time management. That book, "168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think," was graciously donated by Laura, and our lucky FCSfit winner is Katherine Kneifl of Nebraska, Extension Assistant at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln! Congrats, Katherine!