How To Spend The Bonus 37 to 52 Hours You Have In Every Week

It took me approximately 7 years to figure out what I wanted to do with whatever time I had on my hands when I was not sleeping – Which, as most of us would probably be in the same boat as I, we have about 50% to 80% of our waking hours spent on work or in some kind of income-earning activity.

Number of hours in a week

There are 168 hours in a week. A full-time worker would work 40 hours a week, as a standard. The rest of the time, they are asleep, probably about 35 to 56 hours per week (For anyone who sleeps between 5 to 8 hours every night).

Regular activities in a week

Of course, we want to factor in commute time to work. A person can expect to spend on average, 3.33 hours to 10 hours per week, commuting to and from work. Alright, let’s factor in mealtimes into our week, of course. If about 30 minutes spent per meal, and 3 meals a day, we spend approximately 10.5 hours eating every week. For those who prep their own meals, we will throw in another 10 hours per week of grocery shopping and meal prep time.

When all these hours are added up, an average person spends 116 hours on regular ‘life’ stuff. In a 168-hour week, this leaves approximately 52 hours of ‘free’ time in a week to socialize and do anything else that strikes our fancy.

In all fairness, I am speaking from the perspective of someone who does not have kids yet, and therefore, may have about 15 extra hours a week to do my own thing. However, even with kids, a person would still have approximately 37 hours left in a week to do ‘me’ stuff, if they played their cards right.

37 hours to 52 hours of dead air, free ‘me time’, unaccounted for every week

The question is – What are you doing with your 37 to 52 hours of ‘me’ time every week? I started this blog by stating that it took me about 7 years to figure out what I wanted to do with those 52 hours of empty space time that I could use at my discretion in any given week. I could spend time with family and friends every night. I may still have over 30 hours left. The question I asked myself was – How could I make life more profitable for me with 30 extra hours to kill?

I decided that I wanted to make something of value during those hours. Having a memorable dinner with family and friends is valuable – But at the end of the day, all the BBQ is eaten, everyone talks about how good the food was, there are many happy memories (hopefully) from the get-together…But what enduring value does dinner once a week have in the lives of my loved ones?

I came to the realization that having a legacy – and building lives with that legacy, including the lives of my family and friends – was an even better use of my time, than just mere dinner get togethers.

Connecting with friends and family is still important, not to misunderstand me – But there is more value that could be added to the relationships in my life. If I had something that was uniquely mine, something that had my name on it, something that, if my friends and family were associated with it, they would be most proud to tell the world that they have some connection to that thing – Something that went beyond dinner parties.

I know you may find this hard to believe – But that ‘something’ of value that will leave or create a legacy for you and your family and friends, is having a business as an entrepreneur. Spending the extra 37 hours to 52 hours that you have left in a week, working on a business legacy, is a lasting value that could run in your family for years – Maybe even generations. Think Rockefeller and Carnegie. Their names carry on, long after the turn of the 19^th century because of the businesses they started.

Think about it: A successful business legacy, means you will have a name that is recognized for what you do, a business that earns you income and may even bring you into the realm of ‘rich’ and especially, something you own that gives your the ability to be able to provide for your family a lifestyle that they may appreciate even greater than a weekly family BBQ. This is not to say you should skip the family BBQ after you have started developing your business legacy.

Therefore, where do you begin with figuring out what to do with 37 to 52 hours of your week, building a lasting legacy? Check out my blog about the business that suits your personality as I will provide tips on how I got started on my dream legacy as a writer and a lawyer.

If you already have your dream business, drop a comment below and share what your business is about! There could be readers looking for your kind of legacy to help them!