Last Updated on May 1, 2022 by Brie
So, it’s no joke that as a single mom you stay pretty busy. One probably that I have had in the past is not being able to categorize my time. I feel like in each week I will spend too much time in the work area of my life, and not have enough family time. I have been using what I dubbed the “168 time chart”
There are 168 hours total in a week which seems like a lot until you start to break down all the categorize of your life and fit them in. I try to prioritize sleep. It’s a really important and hard thing to do as a busy single mom. Sleep is one of your weapons though against things like impatience. So, if you speed 8 hours a night sleeping that’s 56 hours a week.
Now you have 112 “awake hours” to do with what you please. So for me my next major part of my week are college classes and work. In this area I spend 30 hours. This 30 hours includes time I spend at work, in classes, and in labs, not study time. I go ahead and thank this time off because it’s pretty much the same each week.
Leaving me with only 82 precious hours. I have 5 classes that I’m taking (which is a verily typical college load). I a lot a certain number of hours to each of those classes per week for homework. This usually varies from 2.5 to 8 hours per class.
And then finally I’m a single mom! I have a pretty big category set aside for my daughter. I strive to spend 20 hours with her a week or a little more. 20 meaningful hours of playing and learning.
Several other key areas of my life are spending time with God. I usually spend about a half hour to an hour every morning totaling for about 5 hours a day. During this time, I pray for my family, and about my day. I also read a chapter or two of my bible. This had been a great system for me.
Then I have time set aside to do chores like dishes laundry and room cleaning.
And lastly, I have a time set aside for hygiene and beauty where I do my make-up, hair, and shower. I’m a pretty big stickler for hygiene so I’ve set aside 14 hours for this. I have three hours set aside for several “electronic based things I like to do such as watch YouTube videos, read the news, check Pinterest, or plan out my week and blog posts.
Since I’m kind of a nerd I really like to keep track of my time on excel! I also have a really pretty free printable worksheet you can track it on.
Here’s the free Printable for download if you are interested in managing your time in the 168-time chart method.
DOWNLOAD: 168 Hour Time Block Printable
