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" &amp;quot;There aren&amp;#039;t enough hours in the day to make time for me.&amp;quot; It sounds like the refrain of a plaintive country hit: &amp;quot;Ballad of a Midlife Mom.&amp;quot; A recent Pew Research Center poll found that 40% of working women with kids under 18 say they always feel rushed. That sounds about right. You dash through your day in a frenzy of activity, yet still go to bed without having done the things you really wanted to\u2014taking a walk with your husband after dinner, connecting with your kids, starting the novel on your bedside table. If you&amp;#039;re like most people, you probably blame lack of time (&amp;quot;If only I had an extra day in my week!&amp;quot;). But time-management experts say the true problem is more subtle\u2014and far more surprising. &amp;quot;Studies show that most people have plenty of time,&amp;quot; insists Laura Vanderkam, author of 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think. &amp;quot;What most of us lack is energy.&amp;quot; In fact, learning to better manage your daily energy flow is the little-known key that could unlock precious hours for you every day of the week. Call it the time-energy equation: a new strategy to help you harness your two most valuable resources by understanding how one fuels the other. You know low energy can cause you to lose focus and motivation, making mundane tasks take longer and leaving little room for what&amp;#039;s important. What you may not realize: &amp;quot;When your energy is high, it multiplies your time,&amp;quot; says Mira Kirshenbaum, author of The Emotional Energy Factor. The majority of your daily energy comes from positive emotions, she says, and by bringing more of these energizers into your life\u2014happiness, hope, anticipation, curiosity, satisfaction\u2014you can sail, not slog, through your day and end up with more hours for the things (and people) you love. Here&amp;#039;s how to make that happen. Track Your Time Most of us have little or no idea where the day goes, says Vanderkam. Researchers from the University of Maryland say those who claim to work 60 to 69 hours a week actually work more like 53\u2014a gap of seven to 16 &amp;quot;misplaced&amp;quot; hours! Follow these steps to find out how you spend your day, reclaim any time you&amp;#039;ve lost\u2014and assess the quality of the time you spend overall. Step 1: Clock yourself  Download an app like RescueTime, which runs in the background on your computer and tracks where you spend every minute online (you can log your noncomputer hours into the app manually). Every week, you&amp;#039;ll get a report so you can see how long you really spend on Instagram or J. Crew\u2014or how much time you spend OTP (on the phone). Prefer a non-digital option? Keep a notebook in which you can jot down the time you spend on various tasks; update it three or four times a day (say, before meals). Even a diary containing ballpark numbers will give you an illuminating overview of your time habits.  Step 2: Identify leaks  As your time-use patterns emerge, laser-focus on the bad boys first: procrastination and other time-wasters (hello, YouTube cat videos); general idleness (15 check-ins with your husband, sister, or kids); pointless errands (clearance-rack drive-bys at the mall). If you&amp;#039;re not 100% sure whether something was worth your while, ask yourself: Did X add to my day or my mood, or do I wish I had that time back? Step 3: Pinpoint the good times  Just as your unproductive moments will become more visible as you pay attention, so will the more rewarding ones, says Sonja Lyubomirsky, Ph.D., author of The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want. Highlight those and keep a list (mentally or on paper) of when your time feels truly well spent\u2014you may be surprised. Maybe that long drive home allows you to unwind; maybe playing with the kids is boring, but chatty walks lift your spirits. You won&amp;#039;t always have the option of spending your day in ways that feel great (that&amp;#039;s life), but use this personal time survey to identify moments you can reclaim so you can put more of them toward fueling your well-being. &amp;quot;By assessing how and when you waste time and how much you get done when you&amp;#039;re productive, you&amp;#039;ll realize you have more time\u2014and more control over it\u2014than you think,&amp;quot; says Vanderkam. Use Your Time\u2026To Find More Energy Now that you&amp;#039;re aware of how you spend each day\u2014the fruitful (and the mindless) patterns in your week\u2014make more of those moments rewarding so they&amp;#039;ll shore up your mood and stamina. \u2022 Create an upward spiral of energy &amp;quot;There&amp;#039;s scientific evidence that certain activities\u2014exercising, being in nature, taking a nap, or doing things that give you positive emotional experiences\u2014 also enhance your energy,&amp;quot; says John Trougakos, Ph.D., associate professor of organizational behavior at the University of Toronto. And when you&amp;#039;re pumped, you get through the un-fun stuff faster. One way to build that positive momentum: &amp;quot;I do something creative first thing in the morning, like developing a new presentation or working on a new curriculum, because it revs me up,&amp;quot; says Margaret Moore, codirector of the Institute of Coaching at McLean Hospital, a Harvard Medical School affiliate. Put at least one favorite activity on your calendar every day, preferably at a time when you need some extra zip (e.g., that post-lunch lull). Read your favorite comedian&amp;#039;s tweets. Sit by a window. Have a cup of tea with (or Skype with) a friend for a few minutes. Bonus: &amp;quot;When you schedule a specific activity, you trick your brain into thinking it&amp;#039;s nonnegotiable, so you&amp;#039;re inspired to power through your todo&amp;#039;s more quickly,&amp;quot; says Vanderkam. \u2022 Take breaks  Yes, breaks\u2014one at least every hour or two. Your brain isn&amp;#039;t wired to focus intently for hours on end, says Trougakos. &amp;quot;Doing something else for even a few minutes can recharge your batteries.&amp;quot; Some signs that you&amp;#039;re not using your time well? Fidgeting, yawning, feeling hungry, zoning out, checking e-mail. Those can all be cues to step away and invest some time in something that makes you feel good, says Trougakos. Stretch, pull a few weeds in the garden, eat a piece of fruit, or pop out to the local coffee shop (and pick up a cup for a friend, too, since generosity is spiritlifting). In a crunch? Try these, all under three minutes: Flip through an old photo album; do 20 jumping jacks; or listen to just one song on your iPod. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s amazing how much more productive and focused you&amp;#039;ll feel after even a brief recharge,&amp;quot; says Moore. \u2022 Set reasonable goals With to-do lists, we tend to overestimate the number of things we can get done in a day, then feel defeated when we realize we can&amp;#039;t accomplish it all,&amp;quot; says Julie Morgenstern, author of Time Management From the Inside Out. Avoid a to-do\u2013list downer by limiting yours to no more than five items; then prioritize them and block out time for each to make sure they&amp;#039;re doable. If you&amp;#039;re realistic about your objectives, you&amp;#039;re more likely to actually meet them\u2014and that sense of satisfaction will give you a burst of energy, says Cali Williams Yost, author of Tweak It: Make What Matters to You Happen Every Day. Then make the most of those &amp;quot;I did it!&amp;quot; moments by pausing and letting the feeling really sink in, she advises. &amp;quot;Taking even 20 seconds to savor positive experiences can enhance happiness and, as a result, give you a bigger mood and energy boost.&amp;quot; \u2022 Don&amp;#039;t put it off If you find yourself saying, &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;ll feel more like doing this later,&amp;quot; you&amp;#039;re procrastinating, which wastes time and depletes your energy. That&amp;#039;s true even if you do something productive in the meantime, says Tim Pychyl, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, who studies procrastinators. &amp;quot;Doing something useful like straightening up the living room or organizing your desk is better than playing Angry Birds, sure, but that&amp;#039;s still time you won&amp;#039;t get back,&amp;quot; he says. The best procrastination cure: &amp;quot;Just start the dreaded activity,&amp;quot; says Pychyl. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s almost never as bad as you think, and once you&amp;#039;ve begun a project, you&amp;#039;re more likely to finish it.&amp;quot; Plus, the relief can propel you into doing more of what you enjoy afterward. \u2022 Find a way to say no  It may be the most difficult two-letter word in the English language, whether you&amp;#039;re saying it to someone else or to yourself (as in, No, I&amp;#039;m not going to fold socks right now; I&amp;#039;m going to take that run). Need motivation? &amp;quot;Remind yourself that saying no to things that aren&amp;#039;t a priority means you&amp;#039;ll be able to say yes to the things that are,&amp;quot; says Kirshenbaum. Although the best strategy is to say, &amp;quot;No\u2014sorry&amp;quot; to someone who needs a favor, that may feel too harsh. If so, try these alternatives: - Gee, I&amp;#039;d love to, but I just can&amp;#039;t. - Gosh, I&amp;#039;m afraid this time you&amp;#039;re going to have to find someone else. - I&amp;#039;m sorry! You caught me at a bad time and I have to turn you down. - Let me check my schedule\u2026I wish I could, but there&amp;#039;s no way I can do it this week. If the other person keeps asking, just calmly repeat your initial response, advises Kirshenbaum. But don&amp;#039;t make excuses or elaborate, or you could find yourself slipping into &amp;quot;Well, maybe.&amp;quot; Next:   Track Your Energy Now that you&amp;#039;ve got more time on your side, how can you enhance your energy? Start by getting a feel for your daily rhythms. We all have natural highs and lows throughout the day; learn yours so you can maximize the energy peaks. Step 1: ID your ups and downs  Set your phone to ping every two hours, &amp;quot;then jot down what you&amp;#039;re doing and rate how you&amp;#039;re feeling on these four variables: &amp;#039;energetic,&amp;#039; &amp;#039;happy,&amp;#039; &amp;#039;focused/ engaged,&amp;#039; and &amp;#039;purposeful,&amp;#039; &amp;quot; says Lyubomirsky. Rate your state of mind on a scale from 1 to 6, and note the times when your scores are highest (4 and above), as well as when your pep dips, so you get an energy overview. Step 2: Look within  Ask yourself the following energy-related questions: - When am I typically most energized? &amp;quot;Most people&amp;#039;s primo energy hours are between 9 A.M. and 2 P.M.,&amp;quot; says Piers Steel, Ph.D., author of The Procrastination Equation: How to Stop Putting Things Off and Start Getting Stuff Done. Schedule challenging projects\u2014zipping through a boring report or nailing down the logistics of a trip\u2014during the daily periods when you feel most efficient. Save less taxing things for your energy troughs. - When does my energy sag? In addition to the times when you&amp;#039;re overtly tired, note those when you&amp;#039;re bored or unmotivated. &amp;quot;Distraction can be a sign of underlying fatigue,&amp;quot; says Vanderkam. The solution: Bolster your energy by taking a break, having a snack, or switching to an activity that&amp;#039;s fun or super-engaging. &amp;quot;When you&amp;#039;re &amp;#039;in the zone&amp;#039;\u2014fully absorbed and focused\u2014 you&amp;#039;re naturally energized, so those are the activities you should turn to when your stamina is flagging,&amp;quot; says Moore. Once you&amp;#039;re conscious of how and why your own energy rises and falls, start planning the day&amp;#039;s events to make the best use of your natural rhythms whenever possible. Again, the idea isn&amp;#039;t to feel as if you&amp;#039;re constantly living life on all cylinders (that would be exhausting), but to harness your energy so you spend less time on what drains you and more on what&amp;#039;s satisfying. Use Your Energy\u2026To Find More Time Now that you&amp;#039;re more energy-conscious, how does that translate into more time for you? Start by doing some inspiring math: If you sleep for eight hours and work another eight, you still have eight more left in the day. Yes, you still have to commute, shop, help the kids with homework, and eat\u2014 but now you can channel your energy so that at least a few of those hours can be all yours. Here&amp;#039;s how: \u2022 Tackle tough stuff during power hours Every night, identify the most important challenge for the next day and make that your top priority during your high-energy time\u2014 which often means doing it first, says Steel. Regardless of when your peak time is, make the most of it: Turn off e-mail and Facebook notifications and mute your phone so you&amp;#039;re not distracted. If you have a Mac, download the SelfControl app, which allows you to block your own access to any website for a period of time. If shopping at One Kings Lane is your downfall, block it for an hour or two to focus on top projects. \u2022 Do one thing at a time Multitasking doesn&amp;#039;t help you get more done\u2014really. And because juggling multiple activities is challenging for the brain, it sucks up energy quickly. &amp;quot;The more stuff on your plate, the more draining it all is,&amp;quot; says Trougakos. If you really need to get two or three things done in a fairly short time, try to spend 20 minutes concentrating on each one. It&amp;#039;s tough if you&amp;#039;re used to keeping multiple balls in the air, but this way you&amp;#039;ll accomplish more\u2014and conserve your energy. \u2022 Make dull tasks more fun It&amp;#039;s possible to transform unpleasant or ho-hum tasks into something more bearable so they don&amp;#039;t siphon off additional precious minutes. Here are three ways to get creative and energize your to-dos: - Get Playful &amp;quot;I don&amp;#039;t like to do dishes, so I put on the teakettle when I start, then see how many dishes I can wash before the water starts boiling,&amp;quot; says Steel. &amp;quot;It makes the chore more fun\u2014and helps me finish more quickly.&amp;quot; So crank the tunes and dance while you vacuum; sip hot chocolate while you pay bills; listen to an audiobook while folding laundry. Adds Steel: &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s a simple principle you can apply 100 different ways. The key is to find what works for you.&amp;quot; - Make It Meaningful Studies have shown that gutting through activities on willpower alone is exhausting, but if you&amp;#039;re driven by your own internal goals, tasks don&amp;#039;t demand nearly as much of your resources. Case in point: &amp;quot;If you see housework as onerous, think about why you want to do it\u2014whether it&amp;#039;s to make your home more inviting for guests or to create a calm environment for your family,&amp;quot; says Steel. &amp;quot;Finding meaning helps you connect with your personal motivation, and when you&amp;#039;re motivated, you&amp;#039;re energized.&amp;quot; - Promise Yourself a Treat &amp;quot;Rewards work,&amp;quot; says Randy Kamen Gredinger, Ed.D., a psychologist who helps women juggle their work and personal lives more successfully. &amp;quot;Tell yourself, I&amp;#039;ll make the sales calls, then run to Starbucks or schedule a lunch date with a friend.&amp;quot; Research shows that merely anticipating an enjoyable event gives you a lift, making you less likely to drag your feet and waste time. Fair Warning It takes some effort to shift your time/energy balance so you can find more free moments. Give yourself a month or two to settle into your new rhythm, suggests Vanderkam. But as these fresh and more positive patterns take root, you&amp;#039;ll begin to reap real benefits\u2014and then you&amp;#039;ll face the most rewarding challenge of all: figuring out how to spend your newfound windfall of hours and energy on all the things that have long been on your &amp;quot;Gee, I wish I had time for that&amp;quot; list. Because now you do. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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