Describe what you would do with 4 extra hours today?
Honestly if I had an extra 4 hours I would probably ‘waste’ them like I do many an hour. Do I feel guilty about this? Not much. I feel fortunate and indulged, but not guilty. I have lived a good part of my past being productive, busy, and feeling like every hour of waking time should be fully utilized. Do I think that all the people who say ad nauseam “but I don’t have time” would be better off if they only had an extra 4 hours? Absolutely not. We all get the same 24 hours a day. Learning to take enough time for sleep, for self, for others, for work is something everyone gets to balance. I do not think a 28 hour day would do anything but exhaust the exhausted more.
Now if you ask how I might take 4 hours for myself and use them wisely then that is a different matter. I think I would take 1 hour and split it between just getting up and bedtime. I would use that time to be even slower getting ready for the day, or winding down at the end of the time. Perhaps I would read a little more, or actually do some extra grooming or tidying of the bath & bedroom. A second of those hours could be devoted to remembering that I have a nice piano that ought to get played. A third hour could be devoted to chipping away at culling clutter or some deep cleaning. And if I really did those 2 hours of projects I think that 4 the hour should be totally social — meeting with a friend, talking on the phone, or writing email and checking the blogs of interesting people. And do I think the ‘busy’ over extended people of the world could and should claim 4 hours for themselves, Yes. And if they think 4 hours would be impossible, fine. My reply to them is OK but don’t tell me that finding 1 or 2 hours is not possible.
Real Simplehas a number of pie charts showing how a typical day is spent. And they have a page for you to create your own pie chart of how you spend a typical day, a typical weekend day, or a fantasy day. Perhaps the most fun of all however would be making a pie chart of “how others think I spend my day”.
Real Simple is also having a blogger contest, where you could:
Join the ranks of Real Simple’s editors as a blogger on Simply Stated for one month
Receive a prize of $1,000
by writing on this topic:
What was the most difficult thing you had to give up in order to balance your schedule? Maybe you stopped watching a favorite TV show or dropped out of your book club. Whatever that sacrifice was, tell us your story for a chance to blog on RealSimple.com.
KittyHere or There, Anywhere 