When it comes to discussing, prioritizing and allocating limited resources, there are many that can be identified. Limited resources on Earth include things like rainforests, water, open space, energy, and fossil fuels. But in our personal lives, there are also resources that are limited. Those include attention, effort, money, personal investment, and the one I will talk about in this post-TIME.
Of all the personal resources we have access to, time is one that is often very difficult to manage, track, and allocate in all the places we need to spend it. In the modern world, we spend so much time running here and there, caring for others, fulfilling job or parenting commitments, handling household tasks and chores, etc. that we are left with very little time for us to do things like make time for self care, down time, time to pursue recreational hobbies, take vacations, and honestly, just sit-breathe-and be.
In this post I thought it would be a good idea to talk about how we go about allocating this limited resource of time and how we might be able to find more productive ways of allocating and using time in our daily lives. In our society, “lack of time” is a common complaint of adults and children alike. We have gotten so accustomed to planning, dividing, and allocating every minute of every day to the things that “must get done” that we often feel as though we are running our lives on a treadmill. We are always busy, always moving, always doing, but not really feeling like we are getting anywhere. As a result, we end up feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, frustrated, angry, anxious, depressed, and unhappy.
Yes, all of the “things” do need to get done. That is a fact. We need to work, care for our loved ones, pay the bills, maintain a household, attend school, participate in extracurricular activities, fulfill our responsibilities, and try to make or build in time to rest, breathe, relax, and enjoy life. So how do we do that? It is tough some times, given all of the constant demands on our very limited resource of time. How do we make choices about how to allocate that resource in ways that are both productive and fulfilling?
We start by realizing that time is limited, that there are only 24 hours in a day, and that we need to consciously make decisions and choices about how to use those hours in the best ways we can. As adults, we need to practice and model the critical skill of time management for our children so that they can grow up and effectively manage time in their own lives as they grow up and live on their own.
Time management is a skill that is very consciously taught, modeled, and expected in a Montessori learning environment. Montessori students are given the “freedom and responsibility” to allocate their time during the school day to accomplish all of the tasks that must be done. The Montessori work cycle is purposely organized as a dedicated, uninterrupted, extended time for students to accomplish their works and their learning. The Montessori work cycle is usually in the morning, because studies have shown that most humans are most productive in the morning. A Montessori work cycle is usually about three hours long. This allows students to accomplish the works they need to get done. It allows for transition times from one activity to the next. It also allows for some built-in down time between more strenuous mental and physical work. The work cycle ebbs and flows between mental and/or physical labor and time to allow the mind and body to wind down after doing involved, lengthy, or difficult work. Think of it as the in-breath and the out-breath. The balance between effort and rest. In our efforts to manage time in more productive ways, it is useful to keep this ebb and flow in mind as we start to reflect on how time is used in our own daily existence.
In order to work on being better at allocating our time as needed to live our lives, we start by analyzing how we are currently allocating time in all aspects of our lives. This is a process that can be done by adults and children alike. I think it is critical that both parents and children follow these steps to analyze how time is being spent for the family as a whole.
Start by making a list of how and where you allocate time. Using a chart like the one I have linked here: Time Tracking Record Sheet can be helpful in recording how and why our time is allocated as it is during a given 24-hour period. It is helpful to do the recording exercise over several days or even a few weeks to get a better understanding of what patterns emerge in how we choose to use our time.
There will always be those bumps in the road, the unforeseen circumstances that steal our time for things we didn’t plan for. Those are things that just happen, and often we can’t anticipate, or avoid those. However, in doing the time tracking chart over time, you might realize that there is a pattern that emerges where the “unforeseen time zaps” happen more often, or with more regularity than you first realized. Charting your time allocation over a period of time allows you to take the next step in building and maintaining good time management skills- Analyzing.
If simply tracking how you are spending your time over a given number of days or weeks, is the first step, the next step is to then sit back, lay out your charts, look objectively at how your time is being spent and analyze that data. It can be helpful to create a pie chart like the sample I have here: 
to visually represent how your time is being used. Pie charts are an easy visual way to see where the majority of your time is spent. In the analyzing step of this process, it is critically important that you remain objective when looking at the data. While it may be easy to excuse away some of the time you have used with thoughts like “That doesn’t usually happen.” or “That was something that was important for (insert reason here) so it doesn’t really count.” When we start to have those kinds of thoughts, the process of objectively analyzing how we spend our time gets degraded. It is important to make a conscious, clear decision to simply look objectively at how you are currently spending your time and record the results.
After you have had a chance to record on your time tracking chart, and build a pie graph of that data, the next step in the process can begin. This step begins with thinking about how you would like to CHOOSE to spend your time, if you had complete control of your time commitments. I know that is not possible. Life happens. We have demands on our time that we can’t control. However, if we start by looking at how we would LIKE to spend our time, we can then make steps to alter how we go about allocating our time for things that are important to us. Make a list of the things from your time tracking chart or pie chart that are personally important to you. List out how much time those things take from your overall day. Sleeping and eating are things that should be on the “important” list. Without those, you can’t survive. So build them into your list of “must haves” for time allocation. Each person in the family should make their own lists independently.
Next comes the more difficult part in the process: making decisions individually and as a family about how to allocate your time. A time allocation chart like the one linked here: Time Allocation Plan is a good tool to use in this process. You can also lay out your allocation plan on a blank monthly calendar to visually see where and how you plan to allocate your time. This can be done for each person in the family, or for the family as a whole, whichever makes the most sense for your family. I suggest doing a first draft in a digital document or with a pencil so it can be modified as you go through the process. I am literally asking you to map out how you and your family would ideally choose to spend your time on a daily/weekly/or monthly basis. Ultimately, it is a decision about CHOOSING to SPEND your time.
It takes some work to effectively come up with a plan about how to go about that in a family with multiple people, multiple commitments, needs and desires about how to use time. You may need to negotiate: “If I go to yoga on Saturday mornings from 10-11, I can take the kids to swim lessons from 2-3 while you play soccer.” Remember that your family is a collective unit. You will need to collaborate as a unit to be able to spend your time in ways that you find important, meaningful and important as a family unit. Don’t forget to build in time for down time, hobbies, relaxing, date night, and unstructured or free time. Those categories are critical for maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Don’t feel guilty about building in and taking that time. You need those things in order to be able to be fully present in the more demanding areas of your life. It is like the Montessori work cycle, where you take time to do the mentally and physically demanding work, and also to have a snack, clean a table, water the garden, read a book for fun-whatever it is that rejuvenates you to be able to handle the next demanding work in your work plan.
By no means is this time allocation process or plan set in stone. Like I said earlier in this post, life happens. Things come up. Plans need to change. Sometimes life just happens that way. Accept it. Go with the flow when you must. Stick to your time allocation plan as much and as often as you are able. Revisit and revise your charts, pie graphs, and allocation plans as often as you need to. None of it is set in stone. It is meant to act as a living document or plan as a tool to inform you, guide you, and support you. Make it so.
Maria Montessori said “Order is one of the needs of life, which, when satisfied, produces real happiness.”
Channel your inner Maria. Be the best advocate you can be for yourself and your family. Decide how to create order in your life and the lives of your family members by navigating your own path to allocating that most precious of resources- TIME!!
I wish you well in your journey. Please leave a comment if you have a suggestion or question that was sparked by this post. Thanks for spending your time in reading it.
*Side note: I have a personal goal to do a new blog post on the first of every month. Today is the 10th. I am posting this today. As happens for all of us occasionally, time got away from me. I had to decide to allocate my time to both necessary tasks, and allow for some down time with my loved ones in the last few weeks. So posting this blog entry has gotten delayed. We all just do the best we can with what we’ve got. So, I am posting on the 10th instead of the 1st this month. No harm, no foul. I got it done. I am proud of it. I hope you find value in the work I have done to bring it to you.
-Be Well. -Jen