Create a Time Budget to Maintain Your Focus
Unless you create a time budget you will find that time manages to slip away. Once time gets lost or spent, time is gone forever. You can’t create more time. You can’t borrow more time. When time is gone, it is lost to all possibilities.
Money gets made. Space gets created. Time can only be managed. A time budget helps you see where your time is going so you can better direct the flow to reach your desired results.
Creating a time budget follows a similar pattern to setting up a financial budget.

Set a Time Budget
- First, audit your time. Start recording all the things you are doing. Make a chart showing every hour of the day and then fill in how you are using those hours. Keep a record for a week or two of how your day passes. Be as detailed as possible.
- Second, list your time needs. Make a list of all the groups, events, or activities you attend on a regular basis. Rank them on a scale from one to ten to determine how important each one is to what you are doing. Also, make a star next to those that you enjoy the most. Underline those that you would prefer you didn’t have to do.
- Third, make a list of desired investments. Create a separate list of groups, events, or activities you would like to be a part of or attend. Estimate how much time would be needed for those investments.
- Fourth, evaluate the time audit you performed. Make notes about what is working and what is not working and how you would like to change.
- Fifth, make the choices to remove the unwanted and unnecessary from your schedule. The sooner you begin addressing long term commitments the quicker you will have space in your time and will find your time growing.
- Sixth, begin filling in the spaces. Start replacing the things you’ve released with things that drive your passion.
- And finally, keep things opened. Be okay with leaving space in your schedule so you will have room to move as needed.
Decluttering a schedule will not allow you to create more time. It gives you the power to utilize the time you have with more focused efficiency. Take control of your day by creating a time budget for your life.