How We Spend Our Time

How we spend our time each day can have an influence over how we can manage it.  Typically work, school, travel time, and sleep take up large chunks of the day.

The average person spends the following amount of time in an average day:

1. 8.5 hours sleeping.
2. 1 hour devoted to personal care.
3. 2.5 hours on household chores (cooking, cleaning, gardening, shopping, etc)
4. 8.5 hours at work and/or school related activities on weekdays and (4 to 5 hours on the weekend).
5. 3 hours caring for others, either those who live with us (children and spouses) or those outside of our homes (elderly relatives, volunteer work)

We also have personal time or “free time” which we can utilize.  As you can see though according to the previous breakdown there is roughly 0.5 hours of personal time we have in a given day.  Again this is just an average number but nevertheless our personal time is only a small part of our time.  Keep in mind that break times at work or school can be considered personal time as well.  Personal time spent in relaxation is as important as what goes on during the rest of our day.  It is the time we have to ourselves to use as we see fit and is the most useful for planning ahead.  Keep in mind though that free time is only helpful towards time management if utilized effectively.