VANDERKAM. LAURA, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT YOU OFTEN ASK PEOPLE TO DO IS TO KEEP A TIME LOG, WHERE THEY LITERALLY RECORD. WHAT DO THEY DO EVERY MINUTE OF THE DAY? WHAT ARE THE COMMON THINGS THAT TEND TO EMERGE WHEN PEOPLE ACTUALLY TRACK HOW THEY SPEND THEIR TIME? WE ALL HAVE 24 HOURS IN A DAY AND 168 HOURS IN A WEEK, AND YET, BECAUSE TIME KEEPS PASSING, WE’RE NOT AWARE OF ALL, YOU KNOW, WHERE THOSE THOSE MINUTES GO. AND SO MANY OF THE THINGS WE THINK ARE HAPPENING IN OUR LIVES ARE BASED MOSTLY ON IMPRESSIONS LIKE, OH, I’M WORKING AROUND THE CLOCK OR I, I NEVER SLEEP, I NEVER HAVE ANY TIME TO MYSELF. AND THEN PEOPLE TRACK THEIR TIME AND THEY TEND TO REALIZE, WELL, MAYBE I DO HAVE SOME FREE TIME. IT’S PROBABLY NOT AS MUCH AS I WANT, BUT IT’S SOME. AND THEN ONCE YOU REALIZE THAT, YOU’RE LIKE, WELL, LET’S FIGURE OUT WAYS TO WORK WITH THIS. YOU’RE MAKING CHOICES ABOUT WHAT YOU CHOOSE TO DO WITH THAT TIME, WHICH TO ME SOUNDS VERY EMPOWERING. OH, ABSOLUTELY. MUCH OF TIME IS A CHOICE, AND I KNOW THERE’S ALWAYS THINGS WE HAVE TO DO. MOST OF US NEED TO WORK FOR A LIVING. WE’RE TAKING CARE OF FAMILY MEMBERS. YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO DO HOUSEWORK AND THINGS LIKE THAT. BUT EVEN WITH ALL OF THAT, THERE IS ALWAYS SOME DISCRETIONARY TIME. SO RATHER THAN TELLING OURSELVES A STORY THAT WE’RE JUST AT THE MERCY OF EVERYTHING ELSE, WE SAY, WELL, EVEN IF IT’S JUST A LITTLE BIT OF TIME, WHAT WOULD I LIKE TO DO WITH IT? AND WE OFTEN DON’T ASK THAT QUESTION. I MEAN, WE’RE SO CONVINCED WE HAVE NO TIME THAT WE DON’T THINK ABOUT WHAT WE’D LIKE TO DO WITH IT. WHAT IS SOMETHING SIMPLE AND SMALL AND ACTIONABLE THAT WE CAN ALL DO TODAY TO FEEL LIKE WE HAVE A BETTER RELATIONSHIP WITH TIME? WELL, ONE THING THAT’S VERY SIMPLE TO DO IS TO GIVE YOURSELF A BEDTIME AND THIS IS, YOU KNOW, NOT ROCKET SCIENCE, BUT MOST PEOPLE KNOW THAT THE DAY HAS A BEGINNING. WE ARE A LITTLE BIT FUZZIER ON THE NOTION THAT EACH DAY HAS AN END, BUT IT DOES. THERE IS A TIME THAT THE DAY WILL BE OVER, AND IF YOU SET THAT TIME A LITTLE BIT MORE RATIONALLY, LIKE, LET’S SAY, YOU KNOW, 7.5 HOURS OF SLEEP, YOU SET A BEDTIME THAT IS 7.5 HOURS BEFORE YOU NEED TO WAKE UP. YOU START TO SEE THAT THE DAY CONTAINS A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME. NOW, WHAT YOU DO WITHIN THAT TIME INVOLVES A LOT OF CHOICE ALONGSIDE THE NECESSITIES AND THINGS WE HAVE TO DO. BUT ONCE WE SEE THAT PICTURE HOLISTICALLY, WE CAN START TO MAKE MORE RATIONAL CHOICES ABOUT WHAT WILL FIT AND WHAT WILL NOT AND WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN SOMETIME ELSE. ISN’T IT FUNNY HOW WE FIGHT BEDTIME AS A CHILD AND WE CAN’T WAIT TO SLEEP AS AN ADULT? IT’S IT’S TRUE. EXCEPT I WILL SAY THERE’S A LOT OF ADULTS WHO FIGHT BEDTIME AS WELL BECAUSE THAT’S WHEN PEOPLE HAVE THAT DISCRETIONARY ME TIME. EVERYTHING’S DONE FOR THE DAY. LIKE, WELL, I COULD KEEP WATCHING TV A LITTLE LONGER OR SCROLL AROUND A LITTLE LONGER, BUT FUTURE YOU WILL PROBABLY BE HAPPIER IF YOU GO TO BED. THE CONVERSATION CONTINUES ON THIS WEEK’S DYING TO ASK PODCAST. LEARN WHERE YOU’RE LIKELY WASTING THE MOST TIME. A HACK TO FIND OUT WHERE THE HOURS IN YOUR DAY REALLY GO AND WHY. FRIDAYS ARE THE BEST DAY TO PLAN A WEEK, AND WHY WE ALL NEED SOMETHING. LAURA CALLS EFFORTFUL FUN. SCAN THAT QR CODE ON YOUR SCREEN TO FIND THE SEASON 12 DEBUT OF DYING TO ASK ON SPOTIFY AN