That is a fantastic idea Dave! I love the idea of having a bank statement of how we spend our time. You’re right, that is the other half of the equation. Thanks for sharing your practice.

I use Outlook to schedule appointments for myself. Even if I’m not meeting with anyone else, I put an appointment on my calendar to show what I intend to focus on at a given time. That’s my budget.

Then, throughout the day, I update my calendar to show what I actually did. That’s the equivalent of a bank statement. At the end of a week or month I can go back and add things up to get a reasonably accurate summary of how I’m spending my time.

Outlook has a really useful feature I only started using a few months ago. It lets you apply “categories” to items on your calendar. That provides a quick way to color code appointments. Now I can glance at a day, week, or month and get a quick sense for how much time I have spent on my top priorities compared to routine tasks or doing things for other people. It quickly helps me see if I am honestly focusing on my top priorities or letting myself be distracted by other things.

Thank YOU again for sharing, Adam! 🙂

Yes, try it again Tom. Just like a financial budget, it never actually plays out like we want it to. However, you’ll be closer to your ideal than you otherwise would without a time budget. You’ll be amazed at how much it helps to schedule your priorities every week.

Thanks so much Caroline. Yes, boundaries and time-budgeting are essential to achieving our goals in all areas of life. We must be intentional with our time. Thanks for your comment.

Yes, it is such a good way to make sure you’re focused on your priorities Ann. You’ll be amazed at how much it helps to map out your week to ensure you’re accomplishing your goals.

That’s great Debbi. It’s a constant evaluation to ensure you’re spending your time on what’s most important. If you stay with it you’ll start feeling better about how you spend your time.