…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. 😉