The 3-Day Time Audit
Imagine knowing exactly where your time goes – and more importantly, how it makes you feel. That’s the power of a purposeful time audit.
The A in the ALIGN Method stands for **Audit** – your first step toward time freedom.
Here’s what you’ll discover:
– Where your time is really going
– Hidden pockets of time you didn’t know existed
– What’s truly draining your energy
Last week, we explored The Hidden Cost of ‘Harmless’ Habits: Why You Need a Time Audit Now.
Now, let’s put it into practice.
Maybe you want to create some change in your life—like now!
Let’s start your time audit. It’s really quite simple. (Notice, I didn’t say it’s always easy.)
There’s certainly no reason to reinvent the wheel, all the credit to Happier Hour author Cassie Holmes; here’s a link to her free time tracking pdf.
Download now and commit to 3 days of honest tracking. Jot down what you did AND how you felt.
Quick-Start Guide:
1. Track specific activities: i.e. for my healthcare folks, don’t just write “work,” write down: direct patient care, charting, admin, meetings, etc.
2. Rate your happiness 1-10: (1: not at all happy- 10: very happy) in real-time; focus on your actual experience, not expectations of how it ‘normally goes’
3. Update promptly to stay accurate; don’t fret if you miss some— but catch up as soon as you can… the longer you wait to record, the more likely you’ll be to impose your general beliefs about the activity.
4. Be honest – this is for your eyes only
A Personal Reality Check
My wake-up call came during my audit of “quality time” with my husband. You know when you have young kids, there’s this sweet spot at night when they’re finally in bed and the house is quiet. I used to regularly binge watch Netflix with my husband during our downtime and before the audit, I probably would have put this time as a 6-8 on the happiness scale, but after I looked at it—it was actually 2-3; I was half-asleep, half-watching/ half-scrolling, and disconnected. This simple awareness led to profound changes: better sleep, scheduling genuine connection time with the hubs, and intentional downtime. One small insight, but big life impact!
This is how change is created. It’s not magic. It just takes some intention and recognition of how you are feeling about how you are spending your time.
| Remember the Change Cycle: Idea: The audit gives you data-driven insights Thoughts: You see patterns clearly (“I spend 2 hours doom-scrolling”) Feelings: You recognize emotional impacts (“This leaves me frustrated”) Actions: You can make informed decisions about time use Habits: You develop new routines based on audit insights Commitment: You strengthen resolve through awareness Lifestyle: You create sustainable changes Change: You transform your relationship with your time |
Your audit will naturally trigger the change cycle with:
– Insight from data (i.e. Clear patterns emerge)
– Emotional impact awareness
– Informed decisions
– New routines
– Stronger commitment
– Sustainable lifestyle
– Transformed relationship with time
NEXT WEEK we go to the LEARN PHASE
We’ll explore:
- How to use audit data to identify energy patterns
- Notice which activities energize vs. drain
- Map your natural daily energy rhythms
After Learn → Integrate:
- Make decisions based on audit insights
- Align choices with your energy patterns
- Create boundaries around energy-draining activities
| TL; DR: Audit your time, it will reveal two crucial things: 1. Reality: What you’re actually doing 2. Impact: How it affects your life This is how change is created. It’s not magic. Ready to Transform Your Time? Download the tracking sheet and start with your 3-day audit now. |
P.S. Ready for personalized support? Book your free Time Freedom Strategy Session now. In just 30 minutes, we’ll:
– Analyze your audit results
– Identify your biggest time drains
– Create your personalized freedom roadmap
– Explore the Time Freedom Course opportunity
Only a few spots available this week – claim yours now.
Don’t wait to start creating the freedom you crave.
