…but we all have exactly the same 24 hours to work with, so why do we struggle to « fit it all in »? Maybe because we never really do the math, and look at just how much time we do have.

I would consider myself a busy person for the most part, I workout before dawn, I work 50+ hours a week and I ride (weather permitting) at least once everyday. So I always thought my time was well spent, and that I was maxed out at what I could be doing. I also ended up feeling like I needed a break or vacation quite often. The ‘feeling’ of being busy was more tiring than what I was actually busy doing.

After taking a course on Equestrian Energy Leadership given by Leah Hinnefeld (The Athletic Rider) that had a section on time management I realized I wasted a lot of time in some places, and did not take nearly as much time as I thought in others. We were asked to keep a simple log for 3 days. Tracking what we did, how long we thought it would take and how long it really took. This was a pretty big eye opener, and I suggest everyone try it!

After this I had the idea to break it down and do the math, so I created a Time Budget…

We all get the same 168 hours every week, I calculated the following activities and obligations to see how much of that time was left over.

• Working (Eat lunch at my desk)
• Sleeping
• Exercise
• Riding (Ideal weather conditions)
• Meal Prepping (Lunch/Breakfast/Snacks)
• Grocery Shopping
• Barn Chores
• House Chores
• Running Errands
• Shower/Beauty Routine
• Cooking (Suppers)
• Commuting

All of this totals 146 hours, which sounds like a lot but I fit in a lot of stuff that I used to think wouldn’t fit, like exercise and meal prep.

Even after all of this, that still leaves me with 22 hours of free time to do whatever the heck I want with. That may not sound like a lot compared to the above mentioned numbers, but that is almost an entire day all for me.

I would highly recommend this exercise to anyone who wants to manage their time better, the visualization helped me a lot to realize what I have, rather than what I lack…Which apparently is not time. 😉