Time Management Tuesday - The Time Journal, The Bifurcated Day and Not Enough Time

Have you ever uttered "I just don't have enough time" or a similar phrase. I know I have and recently I have been hearing very similar phrases from Lu. Why is it that some people are able to manage better with the same 24 hour day?

We are all given the same 24 hour day. I think those who do not feel "too busy" or "overwhelmed" with tasks have simply done a better job of prioritizing. Instead of saying I am too busy they say I am choosing not to make this a priority right now. Or they are saying I have chosen to make this a priority because it is important to ME so I am deciding that these other tasks are not a priority and can wait. 

Now I empathize with Lu that she is stuck in school 8 hours a day (some days she only has 1 hour of instruction), and this is something she cannot choose away. But how can she and I better use our time? 

I cannot find the answer for her, but I can find the answer for me. I think the key is to begin by understanding where my time is going. It is the advice given when people want to take control of their diets or their budgets so why not apply it to time. I will be starting, and sharing a time journal. Now it won't be as cool as Dr. River Song's Tardis Journal, it will be simpler. For one month I will track my time. Who knows maybe by just being more aware of where my time is going I will find more time to do the things I want.

I currently live with a bifurcated day. Mondays and Wednesdays my productive day ends at 5pm when I have to get ready to take Lu to Bville. It is a 1.5 hour drive each way and she has core class (1 hour) and then fight training (1+ hour). I leave between 5:00 and 5:15 and I return home around 10:30. That is 5.5 hours of my 24 hour day I DO NOT have control over. I spend most of the time sitting. I can start bringing reading material with me and maybe walking the canal path instead of sitting in a diner for dinner and then sitting in the dojo watching her. She doesn't like when I watch her, she gets upset with me. 

If at the end of my Month I still do not have enough time, I have to start evaluating what is important to me, and what can I let go of so that I can have enough time. 

How about you? What are your secrets to good time management?