Chapters 1-3: Share your thoughts about this passage: “There are 168 hours in a week. Let’s say you’re contracted to work around 40 hours and you work another 20 hours every week for free. That’s 6o hours a week spent on school-related tasks, leaving you with 108 hours for everything else. If you factor in around 7 hours of sleep a night, that still leaves you with 59-60 hours a week for yourself…” How do you currently spend your 60 hours of weekly free time? Would you like to make changes to how you spend this time going forward?
One of the biggest things I learned before teaching was this: as much as possible, do NOT bring work home. Of course, with looming deadlines, this is not always possible. However, it has definitely helped me to ensure that most of my "free time" is "free time". If I do need to bring work home, I try to make it something that I enjoy - i.e., lesson planning, not grading papers, haha! Most days leave me exhausted, so I spend most of my "free time" on week days vegging out and recuperating.
ReplyDeleteI have 2 kids in middle school. Most of my "free time" is spent getting them to or from activities, doing house chores, or wasting time on screens- tv or phone, I also read about 30-45 minutes every night, and bringing more active movement back into my life . A lot of the house chores are done during the weekend which takes away time to do something a little more exciting, so I think the biggest take away right now is to start delegating areas to clean every day so it is done continually and not all in one day. A part of this would also be to have the other 3 people in my family take on a piece of the house too. I saw a reel the other day that the family had an alarm set every day at the same time, when that went off- everyone in the house had there "area" to clean and the house was always being worked on by everyone!
ReplyDeletePost writer is Shelly Berning
DeleteMuch of my "free" time is spent decompressing and relaxing. My teaching position recently changed from first grade in a rural school to third grade in a bigger district. There have been many changes in my life along with this. I am looking forward to working on myself and allowing time for me and not so much after hours time in the classroom preparing.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to believe that I have 60 hours of “free” time. With 3 teens, we have a lot of extra curricular activities and time spent driving. I know it is a choice and I truly love supporting my daughters in all that they do, but the long hours spent driving, at games, at tournaments, etc. can be draining. While I would not give up the things that I do with and for my kids, there are other commitments (committees) on my plate that I could let go.
ReplyDeleteMy first response was to think "That can't be right." My second response was to do the math myself, ha! My third response was a little feeling of depression because how the heck do I have that much time and still feel burned out?! I am a mom and primary keeper of the home, so a lot of that time goes towards laundry, dishes, cleaning, cooking, childcare... and scrolling for ideas online for teaching Math, cooking, quilting, teaching my kiddo things like how to read, and other ideas that are endless out there on the internet. I think I need to get rid of quite a bit of stuff in my house, so I spend less time on cleaning it. I also think that although the internet has given me tons of quilting, cooking, and teaching ideas, that maybe it's given me enough for now and I should try unplugging for a month and see how that goes. I would like to put more time into just enjoying my daughter, taking care of my health, and practicing piano again.
ReplyDeleteThis passage is a lot to unpack. I have a 7 month old so I'm definitely don't getting 7 hours of sleep! Also, it doesn't feel like I have that much free time. I get to school at 7:30, leave school after basketball practice around 5:45, and get home around 6:00. I don't know if I get 60 hours of free time but it is actually a lot. I spend the 60 hours of free time spending time with my family when I get home and trying not to think about what I just left at school. Being able to shut it off is something I've struggled with. The past month I've tried doing a better job of taking care of myself and being present with my family. Unfortunately, I think I have to spend some of my free teach preparing for teaching and coaching. I want to to a good job in all areas and right now I'm just working on how to balance those 3 areas.
ReplyDeleteI currently spend most of my 60 hours a week that are free with my family, cleaning, or on social media. I know that social media is something that I need to cut out more. So often I ask myself later, what did I get out of that? I would rather spend my time with my family. Also, I am working to become more efficient with my cleaning and cooking time to help make sure that I do not have to spend my whole weekend catching up. I am currently doing certain tasks on a specific day so that I just do a little at a time instead of it all at one time. I have realized that if I somewhat keep up with all of my cleaning and picking up, it takes a lot less time than starting over every week. It can be very hard to find balance in education, but it is something that I am working on all the time.
ReplyDeleteThis passage reminds me of the saying, that everyone gets the same 24 hours in a day. It’s a good reminder that there is time, but it’s how we choose to fill that time that can really make a difference. I feel pretty content on how I spend my free time. My husband and I try to divide up running our kids around to their activities and other household chores. We both have family time and a little time each day to pursue our hobbies and things that interest us. I do not want to make changes to how I spend my time, but I think it’s good to reflect every so often and change it up, if needed, rather than continuing to do the same thing day after day.
ReplyDeleteI was very encouraged to hear that I have a generous 60-80 hours available in my week for things other than contracted work time and sleep.
ReplyDeleteOf course, as a wife and mother of 3, a fair amount of the time goes into managing a household. Commuting from work/home takes 5 hours/week, but I'm thankful for that decompression time. Right now, I'm content with how my out-of-work time is balanced between family, friends, exercise, hobbies, play, and rest. My husband and I have time to set goals for what's important to us, and achieve those goals.
This passage was very interesting. I have never really thought to break down the hours in a week and see how much was left after everything was done. I feel like I spend my extra time grocery shopping, cooking supper, spending time with dogs, exercising, showering, reading, then going to bed. I occasionally do a puzzle at night or watch TV. I have become intentional with my weekend times unless I feel that I will be more productive the following week if I get some work done. I have stopped bringing my work home on the weekends because I am not going paid, so it is not a requirement to be working. I am thankful for my commute time of an hour to and from school each day as a gear up and decompression time. I have realized that that is my choice to make each day and I am okay with that choice. I am excited to read the rest of the book and learn how to be more intentional in other ways!
ReplyDeleteIt's Callie Dutenhoffer here. When I was working in the school district, I never once thought about how many hours I spent on work related duties. Yes, I knew what my contracted hours were, but to me, if I had more things that needed to get organized or needed to get done for the future plans, it just was a natural thing to get them done. After it being broken down like this in this passage, it really made me start to think about how I spend those remaining hours. My husband, daughter, and I are very social people. We spend a lot of time out and about with friends. Summer time is a lot easier to be outdoors at the park, going for walks, being out on the lake or golfing. Winters are harder as I'm from South Dakota and it gets freezing!! We find other ways to socialize at friends' houses or at a shop playing indoor games. We enjoy going to church on the weekends and imaginative play with our two year old toddler. When I was still actively teaching, times looked a little different. Papers were brought home, laminating things were being cut, errands were being run for the upcoming things I needed in my classroom whether it was a craft or we were out of snacks. The weekends never truly felt like a weekend when I was teaching because I was always worried and stressed about being prepared enough for the upcoming week. I obviously made a lot of changes once my daughter was done and found myself being better prepared ahead of time rather than waiting to do it last minute and this really helped my time management with not only the classroom, but my family time as well.
ReplyDeleteAs a JH/HS Math teacher - it was interesting to see my "free time" put in as a number. I never really thought of it that way. My life definitely doesn't feel like I have that though. Factor in prepping and cooking meals, laundry, housework and that "free time" dwindles even faster. I have one child still in HS as well. He is active in sports and we obviously are going to attend all of his events as well, which I thoroughly enjoy. That is how I want to spend my "free time". I do tend to come in early as well as stay after school later on the off nights preparing my lessons, correcting papers and all the other needs to maintain my classroom. Knowing what my weekly schedule entails for evening activities, allows me to prepare for the week and helps keep me sane. In a couple years after my last kid graduates, I feel that I will have more evening hours to myself...that is until the next family priority pops up!
ReplyDeleteCurrently I spend my free time exercising, playing with my kids, cooking supper, playing volleyball, and cleaning the house, bible study, and just hanging out with family or relaxing at home. I really do enjoy how I spend my free time and think that I have been better lately about fitting in what I enjoy doing. One thing I would like to spend less time doing is scrolling on my phone. Somedays I can definitely spend too much time doing this without even realizing it, so it would be a good habit to maybe put my phone away for a few hours in the evening to help me accomplish this goal.
ReplyDelete60 hours of free time a week, and how do I spend it? First, there are a lot of obligations to take care of like erands to run, a house to clean, laundry to take care of. Then taking care of family members who need transportation to doctors appointments and help with their daily tasks. Church on Sunday and going out for lunch with friends afterwards is one of my favorite things to do, and taking time to enjoy TV is another way I like to spend my free time.
ReplyDeleteFor the past 12 years I have spent over an hour a day on the road driving to and from my teaching position. Now every second and way more of that hour plus are spent getting my 12 and 8 year olds to their various sports and activities! The rest of my time is spent making sure things for my kids are taken care of, and getting my renewal credits taken care of. I am sure I could/should be using my "free" time for effectively, but sometimes lack of planning is what the doctor ordered.
ReplyDeleteShare your favorite line or analogy stated by William Clark in his talk, Dare To Say No. According to Adam Grant, 80% of us can't say no, we feel like if we don't say yes, we are missing out on something.
ReplyDeleteWhat makes it hard for you to say no? I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.
Why may you, and in what instances, would you like to consider saying no more often? I seem to end up hosting all of the get togethers, I wish someone else would host once in a while, or come up with an idea to go out to eat. I wish other people would come up with something fun to do instead of it always being left up to me.
It is really interesting to take an objective look at the actual hours that are left after work hours. My free time, like most people's, is mostly spent fulfilling family/church/personal commitments and responsibilities. All of these things are valuable in some way, but I would like to take a closer look at how I can allocate even smaller amounts of time to a few areas that I neglect because I think I don't "have time" for them. What can I cut out & replace with things that mean more to me/invest in my long range goals somehow?
ReplyDeleteWhen I was teaching, I definitely didn't feel like I had 60 hours of free time. I would rush to pick up my son from daycare, cook supper, take care of random household tasks, and then begin the bedtime routine. The desire to make the most of my time with my son was a great motivator to truly keep work at work (for the most part). When it came to grading essays, I had to (chose to?) take grading home, and I would do that on weekends or after my son went to bed. Now that I stay at home with my two boys (ages 3 and 1), I don't feel the constant stress or pressure that I once did. I now consider my kids' nap time and bedtime my "free time", and I like to read, exercise, listen to podcasts, or watch TV with my husband. I would like to make some changes with how I spend the time right before I go to bed. It's easy to fall into being on my phone during that time, and I'd like to cut out that screen time for reading a book instead.
ReplyDeleteHow I currently spend my 60 hours of free time:
ReplyDeleteI just got done with basketball season, so that should free up some time, during basketball season that was probably taking up 20 or so hours a week. I try to not take work home, but that does not always happen. I try to watch a movie or part of a movie with my wife. I also try to read or do some woodwork. I would like to change and be consistent with my free time. I would like to schedule some time with my wife so I don't short change her, because she needs me and my help. I need to talk with her to figure something we can do. I need to schedule or get ideas for woodworking and start working on it. The big thing with me is that I need to put it on my schedule otherwise I tend to push it off. The other thing that is pulling on my time, which I can consider a privilage, and I get to, and not have to is to visit and call my parents because my dad is in the hospital right now.
A few years ago, I found myself in a really unhappy mindset. I was always sick. So I dove into my autoimmune disorder. I got on track with working out and nutrition. I became a beachbody coach and helped others. This work brought in a lot of content on mindset. The choice we make to spend 30 mins a day working out. People tell me they don't have time. You could do 48 thirty min workouts in a day!!! I realized I was exhausted like everyone from doing lots of things that didn't bring me joy. So my life was full but of all the wrong things. I started to say no to people. And guess what.... they just found someone else to do what they needed. Life went on. I started to skip lunch in the workroom and ate at my desk. I got to leave school on time! And that gave me 30 mins at home to play with my kids instead of listening to teachers complain in the workroom. I started to listen to the Bible while I got ready in the morning. It filled my mind with the thoughts I needed. I was getting more done, I was happier, and I had more time left. And I still felt like I was helping a fair number of people. I think making a list of what matters, finding creative ways to get them done, and saying no to everything else is the key to success and happiness. You have to know and inforce your own boundaries.
ReplyDeleteI recently came across this same idea from a podcaster (time in a week vs. time in a day). I had thought about the concept of time management/use, but focused more on the "hours in the day" instead. I think the "weekly view" is perhaps more helpful because it does account for plenty of sleep and plenty of time for work, leaving the rest of the time as "manipulative" time. I am realizing that I do have a lot of weekly time that I spend "busy", but not always in the ways that are right for me, for my family, or for my work. I do think there are ways that I can get creative and I have been working to finesse these areas over the past year or so. For example, I am realizing that if I can stay at work until 6 or 7 one night a week for lesson planning, I'm usually able to head into the weekend with little to no planning or homework (allowing my husband and I to spend more time together with our son). If I use my plan period and lunch wisely, and if I close my door to remove extra noise and distraction after school, I am able to focus more closely on the productive activities of grading and planning. My focus now will be the things that I can do (or not do) during the evening that will free up more time to either spend time with my family or allow me to pursue some of my creative hobbies and fitness (all of which have taken a back seat since I became a parent five years ago). So far, I've enjoyed the reading. It hasn't necessarily been things that I haven't heard or thought of, but having the concept fleshed out in the direct context of a teacher's life is so helpful.
ReplyDeleteI'm in the process of changing how I spend my free time. I'm trying to prioritize leaving school at a more reasonable time and going to the gym most evenings. With the new year, I decided to try and push myself to go to the gym at least 4 week nights each week, and so far it has been working. I set an alarm on my phone to make sure I get up and leave school in enough time to get home and get changed and ready for the gym. But, that does mean that my evening is then cut short of actual "free, relaxing" time. I think the trade off is worth it, though, since I am feeling better and getting better sleep in return. I'd like to also build the habit of reading more for fun. That's my next goal to work into my free time.
ReplyDeleteI have been thinking quite a bit about where my time has been spent and the choices I have been making with my time. My 60 hours goes towards coaching, teaching CCD, family activities, church events, and a list of other items I truly enjoy doing. My choice. If I could choose, and I guess I can choose!, to eliminate something it would be grading papers. Correcting papers is time that I do not enjoy doing but I haven't thought of a way around it....yet. I also spend time for myself as well which I very much need. Whether it is a long hike, bike ride, run, meditation or reading, I feel a bit guilty about taking that time from my 60 hours for myself but really, taking that time allows me to be great in the other areas, correct?
ReplyDeleteI have 4 kids, so I usually spend my free time after school and on weekends with them. We go to the park, find something fun to do at home, or go somewhere. A lot of nights I'm too tired to do anything so I just scroll on my phone. I think I can be more intentional with my time and make room for some of the things I really enjoy, like reading, or going for walks.
ReplyDeleteAlthough it’s an easy computation, it’s honestly something I’ve never tried to figure out, but it really does put things into perspective. We all have the same, finite time, it’s what we choose to do with that time that really matters. I currently spend my 60 hours of weekly free time pretty wisely. I am currently expecting my first child, so I am spending my free time getting rest, getting his room all set up and ready for him, prepping freezer meals as my husband will be staying home with him, and working overtime when I can because I will not qualify for parental leave for awhile. However, when I was teaching, I can’t say I used my free time efficiently and that is probably why I am no longer in the education field. I was the person that spent WAY too much time overworking myself thinking that somehow made me a good teacher. The question I would ask myself was “would this activity benefit the kids?” And if the answer was yes (which it always was), I would spend countless hours packing in extra things. As you can imagine, this leads to a fast burnout….I left the teaching profession after 5 years. So if I were to ever go back to teaching, I would really need to brainstorm more efficient ways of using my time. And giving myself some grace knowing that I can’t do it all, nor should I have that expectation of myself.
ReplyDeleteThese first few chapters were eye opening and a bit to unpack. At first, I was like, "Wow, really?!" Then, I realized 34 of those hours are over the weekend, 10 hours are spent getting ready over the weekday mornings, and 16 are left over for the weekday evenings. Which only leaves about 3 hours of free time each weekday evening - and that felt more accurate. Like there is no time for anything unless you save it for the weekend. During those 3 hours during the week, it's cooking supper, cleaning up supper, and then it's bed time for the kids. It can get really depressing, filled with mom-guilt, and cause me to wonder if I should work at all. But then I remember the student loans and that snaps me back. While I'm thankful we have breaks and the summer, it does get really hard during the school year. But over the years, I've learned NOT to take work home with me. If grades aren't in for another day, then so be it. If I don't have submissions in PlanBook, then so be it. If I'm not 100% ready for my next lesson, then so be it; if I bring the energy, the kids won't know the difference. I love teaching, and I love giving them knowledge, but I love my family and my life more. So far this book is wonderful in describing what fewer things better actually means.
ReplyDeleteThere are 168 hours in a week. Let’s say you’re contracted to work around 40 hours and you work another 20 hours every week for free. That’s 6o hours a week spent on school-related tasks, leaving you with 108 hours for everything else. If you factor in around 7 hours of sleep a night, that still leaves you with 59-60 hours a week for yourself…” How do you currently spend your 60 hours of weekly free time?
ReplyDeleteTen hours a week are for commuting to and from school. The rest of the time is spent on obligations such as chores at home and enjoyable time spent with my family.
Would you like to make changes to how you spend this time
Much of my free time is spent with my family. I recently started to spend more time exercising and reading to relax and do things to make myself a better person. One area I could spend less time on is scrolling through social media on my phone. I get sucked in and regret it every time.
ReplyDeleteHow do you currently spend your 60 hours of weekly free time? Would you like to make changes to how you spend this time going forward?
ReplyDeleteMuch of my free time is spent with my daughter, Brecklin. She is 2 1/2 years old and she is BUSY. We love to spend our days together outside or enjoying crafts/art together. When Brecklin is napping or sleeping, I spend time scrolling on social media, walking on my treadmill, reading books for enjoyment, or spending time with my husband watching movies/TV shows together. One area I could spend less time in is social media. I actually gave up social media apps for Lent this year and the amount of time I have now to complete more tasks or read more books is phenomenal. One area I could spend more time in is personal care. I often times make sure everyone else is taken care of: my husband, my daughter, my students; that I forget about filling up my own glass. I would like to spend less time scrolling and more time focusing on bettering myself and filling up my glass before I pour into others.
During my free time, I am with my family and at home catching up laundry, cleaning, and other household chores. I have three children, and they keep me and my husband very busy! I have learned recently that I can't do everything myself. So, I have started giving my other family members "chores" to help me get things done around the house. This allows us to get tasks completed quicker and allows us to have more time to spend together. I used to try to do everything myself, but I realized that it was causing me to feel burnt out and like I was on an island by myself. By asking my family to help out has been extremely helpful for myself.
ReplyDeleteDuring my non-work time, I enjoy spending time with family. I enjoy going to events to support my grandkids. I enjoy taking time for me to replenish my own bucket. I enjoy doing genealogy and puzzles of all sorts. Of course day to day stuff has to get done too (housework, laundry, grocery shopping, paying bills, etc.) The trick is finding balance. I am lucky that I have a husband who is a fabulous and true partner. We work together to get stuff done and support one another.
ReplyDeleteA good part of any free time is spent taking care of my 3 kids and our home. I love being present with them while playing or hanging out together. When they go to bed early, I usually spend 1-2 hours cleaning up the house and then spend the rest of the time before bed with my husband. The one thing that pops into my head to incorporate more into my “free time” is to do more for myself. I don’t do many things that I want to do because I like to give my kids and husband all my attention that they want. I do get burned out sometimes and think to myself “I just want to do something that I want to do” but then I remind myself that when my kids are older I’ll have more time for “my time”.
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ReplyDeleteSeeing all of those hours spelled out that way is really eye opening! I am fortunate in my role that I don't do a lot of work outside of my contracted time outside of the start of the school year. I FEEL like all of my free time goes to household management activities; if I took those 20 non-contract hours and applied those to my household chores - that leaves me quite a bit of "free time". I know I spend a lot of my free time on mindless activities such as scrolling my phone, looking things up on the internet, and watching TV. It's actually quite upsetting to think about when it is all spelled out in this way. Raising two elementary aged children does take up a lot of my "free time" - but that is something that gives me great joy. I know something I would very much like to change is being more intentional in my time outside of work - and stay away from my phone! Seeing how much time really does exist in my week, I would like to be more mindful of scheduling time for exercise, and giving myself time to think and journal about what is really important to me.
With two little kids at home (and a dog), I currently spend a lot of my free time caring for others...prepping and planning for the week and then for each day...feeding everyone, going to preschool and appts and activities and then having family time before the kids' bedtimes...
ReplyDeleteI have been thinking a lot about "What if I didn't do it..." and I would like to make some changes that stem from this idea. For example, I want to spend a little more time prepping grab and go breakfasts for the kids in the morning like I do for my husband and myself rather than making breakfast each morning.
I also want to change my mindset on certain obligations, because I know in the end it's important for me and my family and it is my choice so I don't need to complain about it.
Teaching became more established throughout the years and my mind quieted down some. I could never settle for doing the same thing every year. Especially when I discovered a better way to do something and needed to revamp. This is what probably took up most of my time. I have to admit my husband was the one who was mostly running the boys around to activities. Science involves a lot of materials, supplies, inventory, chemicals etc... I loved to do hands on/visual activities. Even though the students helped with a lot of set up and take down, it still required so much set up and clean up. I always felt the students enjoyed their learning, and it was worth it.
ReplyDeleteHow do I now spend approximately 60 hrs free time? Still trying to keep up with boys, including the husband. My own free time is spent at the barn, which I call therapy. If I can get 10 to 15 hrs a week at the barn, I can feel somewhat mentally refreshed.
I have really been reflecting on "time" this week. Weekdays and weekends obviously look very different. On weeknights, each night is pretty much the same--come home, make dinner, pick up my son from sports, clean, get ready for the week, and bed. The weekends are where I feel I could really "tweak" my time management. I find myself overwhelmed with what "needs" to get done, and often I feel paralyzed and overwhelmed, and very little actually gets done. I am going to try to be more deliberate about what truly needs to get done and making a specific plan/timeline for getting it done. I am hopeful that this will allow me to quickly get done the needed tasks and then be able to open time for what I WANT to do. I think I may need to be really intentional on how I ensure the enjoyable tasks will get done--As the beginning of FTB has made clear, it can be easy to let time slip by without enjoying life.
ReplyDeleteI found this math to be eye-opening because it certainly doesn't feel like I have that much time to myself in a week. Part of the reason for that is because, as a busy, working mom, so much of my "free time" is spent driving kids to and from activities, doing laundry, cleaning, cooking, and doing other household chores. However, I do also devote an hour to walking every day and probably about 30 minutes to reading for enjoyment every day. Honestly, I don't know that I would change much about how I spend my free time right now. I don't necessarily want to do all those household chores, but I also want a clean house, well-fed kids, and the ability for my kids to be involved in activities. I know that someday I will have more time for myself and I will miss these busy days! I guess, if anything, I would delegate more of the household chores to my children so that things could get done faster and we could have more time to just hang out as a family.
ReplyDeleteI feel like a lot of my free time is used for being a busy mom. I learned a long time ago not to bring stuff home from work because 9 times out of 10, I wouldn't do it anyway. It helped me to reorganize how I do my work at school and my efficiency. With that being said, I don't feel like I utilize my free time in a way that fits what I want into my daily routine. I have started to try to shift my focus into what is important for my family and I. I try not to spend hours on chores on my days off and instead do little things throughout the week. We have busy weekends all the time and we try to plan where we just stay home if possible through the weekend. I could try to let go of the need to do things myself and support my family to try and help me instead of just doing it myself.
ReplyDeleteMost of my "free time" is centered around my family, primarily my two children who are 11 and 8 years old. I try not to over-schedule my children's activities, I want them to enjoy their childhood not be so busy with sports and activities. Even so, I have soccer, football, Girl Scouts, church, and volleyball to juggle. I try to keep an organized and clean house and I meal plan/prep to allow more time during the week. I love spending time with my kids, and being organized during the week helps with that. I'm also trying to holding my children accountable with responsibilities so that they can help out around the house. When I'm not busy with my kids, I love to read. I find as they're getting older, I'm able to sit outside and read while they play with neighborhood friends. I'm doing something I enjoy while still being involved with them. I also love to take walks when the weather is nice, garden, try new restaurants, and hang out with friends. I try to make exercise a priority in the morning, but I could be more consistent. I've been making an effort recently to stay off my phone, and its been easier than I thought!
ReplyDeleteWell, I try to bring his little work home as possible, I just can’t seem to get it done during my prep. Period. I feel fortunate to have a full hour to prep, as I know most teachers don’t have that. I am productive during this time, yet I still have lesson planning to do each weekend. It has gotten better so that I only spend about one or two hours per weekend working on it. The rest of my free time is spent with my family, specifically my three-year-old daughter. I try to have time for myself doing yoga, spending time in my yard, and getting other forms of exercise. I also enjoyed going on date nights with my husband , and reading in the evenings to unwind
ReplyDeletePlease excuse my above grammatical errors. I was doing text to type and it published before I had a chance to edit.
ReplyDeleteHow do you currently spend your 60 hours of weekly free time? Would you like to make changes to how you spend this time going forward?
ReplyDeleteMy "free time" is mostly focused around my family and our 3 daughters. They are involved in 3 sports and play traveling basketball. We usually have some sort of sporting activity to attend most nights. I love to exercise and be active. Most days I work out in the morning before work. My husband and I try to go for a walk together after work when it works in our schedule. I also spend time each day cleaning and organizing things around the house. My daughters help out, but I always find myself cleaning when I have any spare time. At this time of my life I wouldn't make any changes in how I spend my time. I am so busy, but my children are growing up fast and these busy times will not last forever.
Since I'm not currently working in the education field, my work hours are a bit different. During different "seasons" I work many hours depending on what is happening. Other seasons I may have a bit more of down time and can stick closer to those 40 hour work weeks. In my free time, I like to spend it doing things that I enjoy in addition to the required "adulting" things - cooking, cleaning, laundry. It is getting to be closer to summer, so I enjoy reading for fun outside on my patio, bike rides, and of course catching up with a good tv series to unwind for the day.
ReplyDeleteLike so many, my free time is spent cooking, cleaning, and taking care of my family. I feel those are the "must" dos because if I didn't, who would? I also feel, I'm spending way too much of my free time scrolling. Some times, it's for educational purposes. Trying to make lessons better, but far too often, there's no point. I really need to scale that back so I have more free time to do things I love such as gardening, reading, and walking.
ReplyDeleteWow that is an incredible amount of time I definitely do not use well! I spend much of my "free" time thinking about school, cleaning, working a second job, and helping with my grandkids as much as possible. I often fall asleep before my head hits the pillow. The school position I am in right now dictates my financial struggles, so I have put my self on the learning side of things to get back on track. I am single and don't have any household responsibilities to anyone but myself, so you'd think I could get everything done and enjoy some downtime. I am looking forward to learning how to make my school life as uncomplicated as possible, since I really do love teaching.
ReplyDeleteThat number seemed so high to me because I was thinking "where the heck does time go??" That number is not actually "free time" in my life, because you have to do laundry, meal prep, cook meals, do dishes, laundry, get kids to activities, grocery shop, appointments, etc. etc. etc. So even if you cut out half that time for those personal things, it still doesn't seem like enough time to have "free time" for yourself. It feels like we're always running to the next thing or trying to prep for what comes up. If you have little kids, like me, you spend a lot of time just parenting like potty training and helping them eat. Older kids need a lot of chauffeuring to things so they're busy too. So where do these free time hours go?? I don't have time for hobbies, "me time" or anything else other than keeping my kids alive and onto the next thing, so where the heck does the time go? I can't believe how much of our free time we put into our classrooms and our students, it's astonishing! I love the idea of not bringing work home but that's not always the easiest thing to do, but a great goal! I look forward to a better life-work balance as much as I can try to do!
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