Time management is a learned skill that most of us do not learn until we start our first job, start our family or go through adversity.

It is not about finding more hours in the day to be able to do more. It is not about saying no to everything. It is not about taking away from how you want to live your life.

It is about learning how to add value to your own life. I hear this phrase in the business environment a lot “adding value to my customers”.

What if today you start adding value to yourself so that you will be better able to serve your customers, too?

I am inviting you to commit to your own learning this week and try an exercise.

This is a great exercise for those who are struggling with finding time to do the things that are missing from their lives right now. E.g. going to the gym, reading a book, going to the movies, hanging out with friends or just calling them up to say hello.

The invitation for you is to write down what you spend your time on. Over 3 days you will capture your activities using 30-min segments. I recommend my clients to start on a Thursday and do it through Saturday. That will give them data for 2 days of the week and one day of the weekend. For those who are eager to learn more I raise the bar and add Sunday and Monday as well.

I did this exercise last summer when I felt too overwhelmed and stressed. When my fear of not being able to do everything froze my progress and I literally did not do anything. I remembered this exercise from one of my master classes. It seemed annoying at first to pay attention and write down what I have been doing every 30 minutes, but after 2 or 3 hours I got into the rhythm and it turned into a fun activity. It was fun to look back at my day and see what I did and what I focused on that day.

It gave me a sense of accomplishment and shifted my mood. I admit I was proud of myself at the end of the day. Among other things, I found out that I took too much time to prep and eat lunch and not enough time to spend with my husband.

What if starting on Thursday you start adding value to yourself?