Developing A Personal Time Line

Simplistically, our life breaks down into three parts: Work, Sleep and Leisure. Most of us feel we have far too much work, inadequate rest and nearly non existent leisure. Sound familiar?

Here's a concept for you to consider to help you gain control over the work phase of life. Develop a Personal Time Line, and then find ways to make it work. Here's how to do it.

Draw a line across a sheet of paper. Make it 6 inches long. This line represents the 24 hours each of us has available every day. Each inch equals 4 hours. Those 24 hours are the equalizer. The richest person can't buy more and the poorest can't afford less.

How much do you sleep each night, 8 hours? That would be 2 inches on our scale. Figure your normal sleep time and mark it on your Time Line.

Next, set a maximum number of hours you will work per day. You set the number. Yes, there are days when the unexpected thwarts our plans. However, we want those to become the exception and not the rule. After you set your workload, including travel time, mark it on your Time Line. If you work 12 hours, that is 3 inches.

The remaining length of your line is the combination of leisure and non work related activities. If you sleep 8 hours and work 12, you have a 1inch, 4 hour space remaining.

Here are the two goals of the Time Line.

Contain your work within your allotted amount. If you find you habitually run over your work time block, consider expanding it once.

Quarterly, shorten your time block by either 15 or 30 minutes. This will give you and extra 1 to 2 hours by year's end, to either put into your leisure or rest sections. You will eventually hit a limit on how much you can tighten your work block. I believe it will be 2 to 2 ½ hours shorter than now.

To accomplish these two goals learn to combine activities, let go of unnecessary habits and rituals. Some work will carry over until tomorrow. And learn to say no, when and where appropriate. Your Personal Time Line will force you to become more efficient. It will make you question every action you take and every procedure you follow. "Is this the best use of my time now?" "Is this the right way to accomplish this task?" "What would happen if I quit doing this?" Your honest answers will surprise you. Do you want more control over your life? Do you want more time for yourself? A Personal Time Line can help you reach these goals. It takes practice, discipline and patience. However, that extra afternoon at the beach or at a ball game with the kids makes it worth it.