How Are You Spending Your Time?

Dear Reader,

Are you shaking your head and wondering where January has gone?! Better yet, have you spent the last few years (or longer) shaking your head and wondering where the time went? If you are, or if you have, or even if you’re only curious – read on.

I am reading “The Ringing Cedars” series, based on a Russian entrepreneur’s encounter with a mystic, Anastasia, who lives in the forests of Siberia. In book 5, titled “Who Are We?” she shows the author how much time average human beings spend on different activities, based on an 80 year life span.

It’s an eye opener.

After spending the first eighteen years “getting to know what life is all about,” (or longer for some of us!) the average person is left with 62 more years of life. We spend 22 of those years in constant sleep. That leaves 40 waking years. Using an eight hour work day as the baseline, we might work for ten of those years, leaving us thirty. Then Anastasia factors in commuting time, food preparation, TV watching time (eight solid years!)… you get the idea.

Since this series of posts is focused on 2011 as a Year of Excellence, I decided to apply the same approach to one year. Are you ready?

In 2011, with its 365 days, we will spend a solid 122 days asleep. We will spend another 87 solid days working. 11 days will go to commuting, 30 days to food-related activities (shopping, preparation, eating, cleaning up; I allowed two hours per day – conservative, right?) 15 full days of household work and – dare I say it – 46 days watching TV! I looked up the Nielson average and it was actually  much higher, but it varies significantly by age group and I decided to be conservative again in my estimate.

You may notice that I haven’t included childcare, for those of us with children, or caring for a relative, being a student, talking on the phone, or surfing the Internet. Even without all that, we are left with only 55 days – less than two months of our year – of open time.

Now, I know you are not a statistic. I know your life varies at least somewhat from the numbers I have laid out. But my main points – and I do have a couple – are these.

First: love the activities you are doing – your work, your meals, even your sleep. May you cherish and enjoy each moment.

Second: Consider – how are you spending your free time, and are you spending it the way you truly want to???

Your life is your work of art – make it count!

I honor your loving heart,

John