YOUR 168 HOURS

In every week you have 168 hours to use as you wish. Do you
really know how you spend them? A general idea of what you do
with your time is not nearly as instructional as a clear
understanding. Here is an exercise to help you clarify.

Take a letter-size piece of paper and draw a large circle on
it. To the right of the circle, write these words in a
vertical list: family, career, grooming, sleep, exercise,
driving, community, household, recreation, time alone...add
any that are important to you. Now, beside each item, put the
number of hours in an average week that you spend on it. When
you are done, change those numbers into a percentage of your
168 hours/week. Now, to really make an impact, make a pie
graph in the circle of the ways you spend your time.

If, by any chance, you simply read the above paragraph without
doing the exercise, and are now reading this, STOP! Nothing
changes until you do. If you do not know how you spend your
time, you will not receive the full benefit of the ideas in
this article. It is not enough to be saying to yourself, "I
know that I need more time for ______." If that is so this
exercise will help you find it. Please, won't you go back and
make the chart now? (This may be one of the ways you
short-change yourself in your daily life. You may not give
yourself time to do the good and beneficial things that you
know would improve your life. Is that a pattern for you?)

Once you have your pie divided, ask yourself if the graph well
represents the importance of each item to you at this time in
your life. You may have to have quite a conversation with
yourself to determine this. Remember, there are not any right
answers...just right answers for you!

If you find that your graph fits your priorities, you will be
experiencing contentment. If not, you may want to make some
adjustments.

ALWAYS REMEMBER----WHAT YOU PAY ATTENTION TO EXPANDS!