Many people believe they simply don’t have time to exercise, cook healthier meals, or prioritize sleep. As a physician, I hear this often in my clinic, especially when we discuss lifestyle changes. But when we take a closer look, the issue is usually not a true lack of time. More often, it is a matter of how that time is being spent and what is being prioritized.
What Is a Time Audit? (And Why It Matters for Your Health)
One helpful way to gain clarity is through a time audit, a concept I learned from author Michael Easter. A time audit is a structured review of how you spend your hours over the course of a typical week. The purpose is not to judge yourself, but to bring awareness to your habits. Much like a financial audit shows where your money is going, a time audit shows where your life is going.
How to Do a Time Audit in 3 Simple Steps
The process is straightforward. Start with the total number of hours in a week, which is 168. From there, subtract the major categories of your life such as sleep, work, family time, household responsibilities, and other obligations.
When you assign realistic estimates to each of these areas, many people are surprised to find that they still have several hours of unallocated or flexible time remaining.
Time Audit Example: Where Does Your Week Actually Go?
- Total number of hours in a week: 168
- Sleep (about 56 hours if you average 8 hours per night)
- Work and commuting (roughly 45 hours)
- Family time (around 28 hours)
- Household tasks like cooking and cleaning (about 20 hours)
- Other obligations or activities (approximately 4 hours)
- General life “overflow” and unexpected disruptions (around 7 hours)
This leaves 8 “unused” hours in the week.
Even if your numbers look different, the exercise is valuable. It often reveals that there is more discretionary time than you initially thought, or that too much of your time is going toward activities that do not align with your priorities.
Do You Really Not Have Time to Exercise?
This becomes especially relevant when we talk about health. Let’s take exercise, for example. The standard recommendation is about 3–4 hours per week (150 minutes of aerobic exercise plus two strength training sessions).
For many people, that amount of time exists somewhere in their week, even if it does not feel like it.
This does not mean that adding exercise is easy or that it comes without trade-offs. It does mean that when we say we do not have time, we may actually be choosing to spend that time elsewhere. That is not a judgment, but it is an important distinction to recognize.
How to Prioritize Your Health When You Feel Busy
Your time is limited, and you will not be able to do everything. What you can do is decide what matters most.
Health is one of the few areas that affects nearly every part of your life—from how you feel each day to how you perform at work and engage with others. Over time, better health supports a higher quality of life, while neglecting it tends to limit what is possible.
The Bottom Line: A Time Audit Helps You Align Your Time With Your Values
A time audit is not about packing more into your schedule. It is about making sure your time reflects your values.
If improving your health is important to you, this is a simple place to start. Take an honest look at your week and decide whether your time is being spent in a way that supports the life you want to live.