Time Budgeting - Becoming aware of how we spend our time

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The envelope budgeting method is a where we place our available money for budgeting that month into physical or theoretical separate envelopes for different types of spending or areas of life.

When we have to spend in that area of life, we take money out of that envelope. Once that envelop is depleted and emptied, no more money is to be spent in that area of life, until that month ends, and we renew the budget.

When we budget our money, we become conscious of how we spend our money. We become well-aware of where our plans and priorities are, in terms of our ideal (the budget) and the reality (our true spending).

We should take a similar approach to how we use our time, to be conscious of how many hours we are spending in each task or area of life across every day, week, and month. Once we are conscious of it, we should compare how we planned or wanted to spend our time with how we actually spent our time. Then, evaluate whether it fits with what we want in life, and make (realistic) changes if not.

Changing your environment is a way of prompting us to spend more or less time on something. Giving yourself rewards and punishments is another way of doing so.

By being aware of our plans and priorities via how we spend our time, we can be intentional with our actions. This can prevent us from being swept up by the pace of life or feeling guilty about how we spend our time. We only have so many hours in a day, and our lifespans are limited (with current technology).

Related:

• 'Too busy' or 'don't have time' to do something
• Time Tracking - 10% of my time is unproductive consuming time
• Time tracking by another Listed author: My Life in Months 🗓️, Alicia's Notes