168 hours is the amount of time that we’ve got in a week. The method of planning with this name is a practical and inspiring guide that helps us make the most of it. Once we become aware of the amount of time we have, we can much easier to examine our weekly allotment and thus find time for all the things we want to accomplish.
168 hours is a simple and efficient way to juggle the time we have at our disposal so we can live the life we want.
We don’t build the lives we want by saving time, We build the lives we want, and then time saves itself.
Laura Vanderkam
How was created the 168 hours
168 hours is a concept of Laura Vanderkam. She is the author of several time management and productivity books, including Juliet’s School of Possibilities, Off the Clock, I Know How She Does It, What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast, and 168 Hours. Her work has appeared in publications including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, and Fortune. She is the host of the podcast Before Breakfast and the co-host, with Sarah Hart-Unger, of the podcast Best of Both Worlds. She lives outside Philadelphia with her husband and five children, and blogs at LauraVanderkam.com.
In 2010 she published the book 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think in which she shows us that “with a little reorganization and prioritizing, we can dedicate more time to the things we want to do without having to make sacrifices.”
The basic principles of the 168 hours
You know you have 168 hours every week, but how do you spend them? The answer to this question is what helps you find out what your flaws are in time management so you can take appropriate action. To find the answer you need to keep track of your time in short intervals. Then, analyze how you spent your time and make the necessary adjustments.
Keeping a log forces you to be honest
Laura Vanderkam
Also, it’s recommended to dream big and give your goals a timeline, then start breaking these goals down into doable steps. After that, plan your tasks and hold yourself accountable to make sure that you are making progress towards your big dreams.
Applying the 168 hours principles
In applying this time management method, several strategies help us achieve the desired results.
- Start tracking your time is one of the most important things you have to do.
Less important is the way you do it, it can be on paper, computer or phone. It is important to track your time in short intervals of 15 or 30 minutes.
- Do this for a week which means 168 hours
- Classify activities by categories that interest you and calculate how much time you spend on each.
- Analyze the results and mark the unwanted differences
- Plan the next week in advance taking into account the desired changes.
- Follow the schedule and, where necessary, adjust it on the fly
Benefits of using 168 hours
The greatest benefit of applying the 168 hours is like Laura Vanderkam says “Spend more time on the things that matter, and less on the things that don’t.”
Time tracking helps you to be more aware of where the hours go. Therefore, your plans will become better and better. You will also make better choices regarding how you choose to respect what you have planned. Overall, your Work / Life balance will improve remarkably.
Mariana Holostenco
Istvan Meszaros
