Time is the most valuable resource we have. Yet, it is rare that we understand how we use this time we have. Stephen Covey noted, “The key is not spending time, but in investing it.”
Let’s consider the big buckets of hours in the average 168-hour week.
If we audit an average week, we work 40 hours or 23% of our week or 36% of our awake time. It would seem we have plenty of time to have an excellent work-life flow on the way to a successful career.
Yet, when you consider other significant portions of your life outside of work, how do you invest time for commuting, exercise, relationships, relaxing hobbies like reading, community service, or spiritual life?
Whether you devote your valuable time is the only measure of whether something is essential.
- Making time for your relationships is the most important investment to yield results of personal happiness. An 84-year-long Harvard study found that good relationships are the key to happiness. You would think work success, making lots of money, or traveling to far-flung places might rank higher, but that just isn’t the case. Instead, solid social connections with friends and family are the most significant indicators of lifelong happiness.
- Investing in your physical, mental, or spiritual health can appear in many ways, including exercise, relaxing hobbies, pouring into others in service, or going to a house of worship. You must take time to be healthy and find peace in each day.
- Lastly, you should spend at least two hours per week working “on” your career and not your job. You can use that time for planning, development, or networking.
Once you audit your time, you can evaluate how you are doing in the areas of your life that matter most in this season. Knowing your time investments is the first step to making better investments for happiness.