1. How do you spend your time? Based on the data you collected, summarize each day (no more than one paragraph for each day – hit the highlights). Explain any differences between the way you spend time on the weekdays and weekend.

Being an employed teacher, my day basically involves teaching and interacting with pre-school kids. All my days begin with a 40-minute devotion with the family, 1 hour exercising, and a 1 hour-preparation of breakfast and sharing the same with family.

On Mondays, I teach the kids and guide them through the specific assignments for the day. In the afternoon I guide the children through their co-curricular activities such as cricket playing, music lessons and skating. The school work ends at 5pm. In the evenings (throughout the three days) I prepare meals for the family, share the same together that takes about 4 hours. We then take a 2 hour-period indulging in some discussions with the family members before retiring to bed.

A slightly different schedule is observed on Wednesday where the day begins with computer lessons. This is followed with a swimming lesson at around mid-day. In the afternoon, we engage in scouting activities with the kids. The same routine of meal preparation and discussions before sleeping is observed on this day.

I do not go to school on Sundays, as such, I mostly indulge in leisure activities during this time. After doing the normal morning activities and chores, I attend the church service at 10 am. I spend the better part of the afternoon watching movies. In the evening participate in volleyball game with my friends, before doing the normal evening chores of food preparation for the family.

• What percentage of your total time was spent tending to existence? How much to subsistence? How much was discretionary time? Create a pie chart (using the chart feature in Word – see this page (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. for assistance) to demonstrate the relationship between these three areas of time.

Subsistence refers to the time spent working and with the family. On the other hand, existence time refers to the period allocated for meeting the physical and psychological needs of an individual. Discretionary time is the leisure time, a period left after all the tasks have been executed. 

• What percentage of the total time did you multitask? Divide the total number of minutes (for all three days) by the number of minutes you were doing more than one things at once. Discuss the pros and cons of multitasking in your life.

5.6%

Multitasking refers to the execution of more than one task at the same time. Multitasking has got its benefits and disadvantages. One of the benefits of multitasking is that it saves on time. The excessive time spent waiting to start a new task can be detrimental to the overall plan of an individual. Multitasking is essential in minimizing the waste time and ensuring time is efficiently used.

Multitasking is also essential in enhancing the focus of an individual. The concentration level of a person is likely to improve by execution of many things at once.

Multitasking instill the skills needed to deal with interruptions. When multitasking, one is expected to shift from one task to the next. In essence, multitasking assist an individual learn how to start and stop an activity within the shortest time possible.

Multitasking is however not without some disadvantages. Deep thinking is required for an individual to multitask successfully. Also, a high level of attention is needed when multitasking. People who multitask are likely to procrastinate things and issues. These individuals are likely to dissociate themselves from the task at hand (Pablo). Efficiency is also a problem in multitasking. The process creates unnecessary busywork for an individual causing inefficiency in time management.

• What percent of your total time did you spend with personal technology (computer, tablet, radio, phone, TV, etc.)? Discuss what technology you used, when you used it and why.

2.8%

I used a computer to watch a movie over the weekend. This movie was available on YouTube platform, thus with the use of the internet, I managed to stream live and access the movie. I did watch over the weekend, and the main reason was for entertainment and leisure purposes.

• During the three days, what percentage of the total time were you physically active? Discuss whether or not you would like to change this and why.

9.7 %

Besides the 1 hour exercise that I indulge in every day, also participate in some physical activities with the kids and my friends over the weekend. In most cases, I am active and believe that the nature of physical activities I currently undertake are sufficient in assisting me maintain a healthy lifestyle.

• What percentage of the total time were you alone? Would you change this if you could? Why?

2.8%

The only time I was alone within the three days was when watching the movie. This time was spent for leisure and I would not want to change it. I also need time alone, especially during entertainment and leisure, as such; I would still spend the same time alone

• Compare and contrast the activities you liked the most with those you liked the least. What percentage of the total time did you spend on activities you liked? What percentage of the total time did you spend on activities you did not like? Is this the way you want it to be?

I spent 91.7% of the time doing what I liked. The remaining 8.3% I spent doing what I did not like. Since most of the time in indulge in activities that I enjoy doing, I am contented with the situation. However, I am working to improve my attitude towards the other activities so that I mostly engage in activities that I enjoy doing.

• Evaluate and critique your discretionary time use, including the strengths and weaknesses. Are you using your leisure well? Do you have more, less, or the same amount of discretionary time now that you believed you had?

Spending much time on leisure activity is essential since it gives an individual time to rejuvenate, and increase their divergent thinking. Leisure activities also provide an opportunity for the mind to wonder enhancing the thinking capacity of an individual. It is also observed that leisure activities are desirable since they enhance the enthusiasm and motivation of an individual to work. People are likely to work harder when they have a break and engage in leisure activities during the break.

I spent my leisure time playing volleyball and watching a movie. This time is limited in relation to the time spent on doing extraneous work. I have enough time over the weekends for leisure activities however as indicated, I only spent 5 hours on leisure activities. I have always wanted to spend the better part of the weekend engaging in discretionary activities, at least for 8 hours. I am focused on creating more time to ensure, I spend the time I desire on leisure activities.

• Discuss at least three things you learned from this assignment about how you are currently spending your time

From this assignment, I have learnt that I spend most of my time doing subsistence tasks. Minimal time is spent on leisure and other existence activities. The latter two activities are also important, I thus need to create more time for leisure activities since they are not only for entertainment but are also important for rejuvenation and motivation of an individual

1. Explain one thing you are going to change about how you spend your time as a result of this assignment.