How do average Americans spend their time?

The average American spends a significant portion on sleep (around 35%), work (around 31%), food preparation and eating (around 12%), chores (around 6.5%), and entertainment (around 29.5 hours, including TV and social media). This often leaves little to no time for other pursuits.

Is it possible to have more free time?

Yes, it's possible by increasing efficiency in necessary tasks, strategically sacrificing certain activities (like excessive entertainment or convenience food), and finding ways to 'double dip' on time. However, this often requires significant trade-offs.

How did the speaker manage a full-time job and grow a business/YouTube channel?

The speaker drastically reduced time spent on convenience (cooking, chores, entertainment like TV) and used commute/lunch breaks for learning (audiobooks, podcasts, planning). This freed up significant hours, but involved sacrifices like less healthy eating.

How does having children affect available time?

Childcare adds a substantial time commitment, often 18-25 hours or more per week, easily pushing individuals into a time deficit. This makes prioritizing and making sacrifices even more critical.

What are the main lessons for making time for everything?

The core message is that physically, there aren't enough hours in the week to do *everything*. Making time for desired activities requires conscious sacrifices in other areas, such as entertainment or convenience, and understanding your own priorities.

Key Moments

How to Make Time for Everything (Then Actually Do It)

Ali Abdaal

Education3 min read27 min video

Jun 18, 2025|341,612 views|11,776|515

Ali Abdaal Ali abdal

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Key Moments

TL;DR

You have 168 hours weekly; prioritize and sacrifice to allocate time effectively.

Key Insights

The average person may not have enough hours in the week to do everything they want, even without children.

Understanding where your 168 hours are currently spent is the first step to regaining control of your time.

Making time for additional pursuits requires strategic sacrifices in other areas of life.

Double-dipping, or multitasking during commutes or breaks, can create more usable time.

The presence of children significantly impacts available time and requires careful allocation.

Ultimately, how you spend your 168 hours is a conscious choice based on your priorities and willingness to sacrifice.

THE REALITY OF 168 HOURS

The fundamental constraint is the 168 hours available each week. Analysis of average time usage, drawing from data like the American Time Use Survey, reveals that essential activities like sleep and work consume a significant portion. Even before accounting for leisure, hobbies, or personal growth, the average person often finds their entire week allocated, highlighting the inherent difficulty in fitting everything in. This understanding is crucial: it's not a personal failing if you struggle to make time for everything; the math simply doesn't always add up.

WHERE DOES YOUR TIME GO?

The first step to reclaiming time is a thorough audit. Using a tool like the '168 Hours' spreadsheet, one can input current time allocations for activities such as sleep, work, commuting, meals, chores, and entertainment. This process illuminates how much time is genuinely spent on basic necessities versus discretionary activities. The data often reveals surprising time sinks, like extended periods on social media or passive entertainment, which, when quantified, show the potential for reallocation.

THE POWER OF STRATEGIC SACRIFICE

Making time for desired activities inevitably requires sacrificing others. Personal anecdotes illustrate this; prioritizing business growth in medical school meant sacrificing hours spent on cooking, healthy eating, and TV. This is not about suggesting what to sacrifice, but about recognizing that choices must be made. Examples include cutting down on entertainment, reducing social media consumption, or even considering significant life changes like reducing work hours if financially feasible, to free up substantial blocks of time.

OPTIMIZING TIME WITH DOUBLE-DIPPING

Creating more usable time can be achieved by 'double-dipping,' or engaging in productive activities during times usually considered downtime. This can involve listening to audiobooks or podcasts during commutes, utilizing lunch breaks for planning or learning, or using exercise time for auditable content. By integrating learning or planning into activities like commuting or eating, individuals can effectively add hours of productive engagement to their week without sacrificing dedicated blocks of time.

THE IMPACT OF CHILDCARE

The presence of children dramatically alters the time equation. Average childcare responsibilities, including active care, logistics, and related activities, can consume a substantial number of hours per week. This significant allocation leaves considerably less time for personal pursuits, demonstrating that time management strategies must account for family obligations. For parents, making time for additional goals often requires even greater sacrifices or extremely efficient time management, as the baseline demands are much higher.

CHOOSING YOUR PRIORITIES

Ultimately, managing your 168 hours is about conscious choice and prioritization. No one can do everything; you must decide what is most important. This might mean sacrificing hours of TV or social media to build a business, or perhaps choosing to maintain a balanced life with less emphasis on side hustles. The key is to acknowledge that you have the agency to shape your week by deciding what to let go of to make space for what truly matters to you.

Mentioned in This Episode

●Software & Apps

●Companies

●Books

●Studies Cited

●Concepts

●People Referenced

Making Time for Everything: Dos and Don'ts

Practical takeaways from this episode

Do This

Track your time or estimate where it's going.

Identify areas for increased efficiency.

Strategically sacrifice non-essential activities.

Explore opportunities to 'double dip' on time (e.g., listening to podcasts while commuting).

Consider the impact of childcare on your schedule.

Be realistic that there aren't enough hours to do *everything*.

Avoid This

Don't feel guilty if you're struggling to make time for everything.

Don't sacrifice sleep or essential family/partner time.

Don't underestimate the time commitment of childcare.

Don't assume everyone has the same time allocation possibilities.

Common Questions

There are 168 hours in a week. This fundamental number is the basis for understanding how much time is available for all activities, both necessary and desired.