PROFITING FROM YOUR TIME BUDGET - BYU Math



PROFITING FROM YOUR TIME BUDGET

“Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.” – Ben Franklin

If you waste an hour of time, have you wasted an hour of life? Many have learned to budget money in order to buy essentials yet they are not willing to budget life (time) with which all things are really bought – including money. There are far too many important or essential things for one life span to buy. One must, therefore, choose goals or make a careful selection of essentials for which he will trade his life.

A time schedule is not a budget. Both are equally needed. A schedule merely assigns an activity to a particular time of day – a budget tells you whether or not you can afford it. Budget enough time to buy your most cherished goal first. Only with the time remaining should the other essentials be purchased. As proverb has it, “Good is the greatest enemy to the best.” After you have decided how much time your second most important goal will take, add it to the first and subtract the total amount you have in order to find out if you can afford the third and then the fourth so-called essentials. All men are equal in that they possess exactly 168 hours per week – no more no less.

Remember if you can’t follow your own budget, you only rob yourself of that which you claim you want. You are not a slave to your budget, but rather it is you slave to force you to obtain what you choose. Man is a product of the things he has done with his time. Wanting to be a different kind of person is not enough. Do things differently and you become that different person. “Man cannot change; he merely grows differently.”

After the budget is complete and the hours add up to 168 (approximately 112 hours awake), only then turn over the sheet and fill in the schedule.

BUDGET OF ACTIVITIES DEMANDING MY TIME

Sample Activities Hours Starting

per week Date

1. Church ______ ______

A. Service Projects ______ ______

B. Meetings ______ ______

2. Family

A. Husband or Wife ______ ______

B. Children ______ ______

C. Parents ______ ______

D. Brothers & Sisters ______ ______

3. Friends & Neighbors

A. Clubs & Projects ______ ______

B. Visits ______ ______

4. Education (see #2 of time use and abuse)

A. Class (Credit hrs X 3)

1. Class __ Cr __ X 3 = ______ ______

2. Class __ Cr __ X 3 = ______ ______

3. Class __ Cr __ X 3 = ______ ______

4. Class __ Cr __ X 3 = ______ ______

5. Class __ Cr __ X 3 = ______ ______

B. Reading ______ ______

C. Other ______ ______

5. Work

A. Job ______ ______

B. Part-time Job ______ ______

6. Diversion

A. Hobbies ______ ______

B. Recreation ______ ______

C. Exercise ______ ______

7. Miscellaneous

A. Time for emergencies ______ ______

B. Eat ______ ______

C. Travel ______ ______

D. Sleep ______ ______

8. Other ______ ______

TOTAL 168

TIME USE AND ABUSE

1. Build your schedule around your fixed time commitments.

FIXED: eating, organizations, classes, church, employment. FLEXIBLE: sleeping, study, personal grooming, recreation.

2. Budget enough time to pay for each subject. Most college classes are planned to require about two hours of outside work each week per credit hour. By multiplying your credit load by two you can get a good idea of the time you should provide for studying. Of course, if you are a slow reader, or have other study deficiencies, you may need to plan more time in order to meet the competition of your classmates.

3. Study at the right times and places. Develop habits of regularity in following your budget schedule. Avoid generalizations in your schedule such as “study.” Commit yourself to “study English 115 or American Heritage 100.”

4. Study is most efficient just before or just after class. One hour of study immediately following class while the lecture and assignments are still fresh in mind is better than two hours a few days later. And preview just before class facilitates class participation and permanent learning.

5. Utilize odd hours for studying. Those scattered one- or two-hour free periods between classes are easily wasted. Use them for reading and studying.

6. Vary your study schedule. To keep up efficiency and power of concentration, arrange your schedule to switch to another subject after two study hours on one subject.

7. Borrow time – don’t steal it. A few hours each week should be set aside as miscellaneous time to trade for time borrowed to handle emergencies of the unexpected. When it is time for a new activity, move to it. Save what you are doing till the next scheduled time or, if necessary, complete it during your miscellaneous time.

“Time is the one thing we possess. Our success depends upon the use of our time and its by-product, the odd moment.”

– Arthur Brisbane

TIME CHART

| | | | | | | | |

| |Monday |Tuesday |Wednesday |Thursday |Friday |Saturday |Sunday |

| | | | | | | | |

|6:00 | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | |

|7:00 | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | |

|8:00 | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | |

|9:00 | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | |

|10:00 | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | |

|11:00 | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | |

|12:00 | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | |

|1:00pm | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | |

|2:00 | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | |

|3:00 | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | |

|4:00 | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | |

|5:00 | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | |

|6:00 | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | |

|7:00 | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | |

|8:00 | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | |

|9:00 | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | |

|10:00 | | | | | | | |

(Complete other side first)

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