24 hours in a day

Have you ever thought or said, "if I could only add a few more hours to my day I could get everything done."? Most of us, over the course of our busy lives, have mumbled this phrase time and time again. Obviously there is no physical way (at least we don't know of any) to add hours to the day. There is, however, plenty of room to manage the 24 hours we do have much more efficiently. Every day starts anew with 24 hours that we can fill with whatever activities we choose. Let's take a look at how the average American spends them!

• 7 hours = sleeping
• 8 hours = working
• 2-3 hours = personal hygiene and commute
• 5 hours = tv, cell phone, computer/internet, video games

If I do the math correctly, this leaves only 2 hours to run all of our errands, prepare and eat meals, take care of children and pets, do housework, and any other chores we may have to accomplish. It's no wonder we don't get everything done.

As the school year begins, make it your goal to utilize your time more efficiently. Here's how you can start. For the next week or month, discipline yourself to log how you spend every half hour or hour of your day. At the end of the week or month, look over your log and find where you waste the most time...this can be a place where you can gain extra hours in the future.

Over a few months or a year, you will be surprised how much time you've gained back!