The time audit that's helping me heal my burnout
Do this audit regularly, especially when your schedule starts to feel like it's wearing you instead of the other way around.
The Time Audit: the productivity equivalent of emptying your purse onto the floor and realizing you've been carrying around three half-eaten protein bars and a collection of loyalty cards to coffee shops you haven't visited since 2019.
Time auditing is about as fun as detangling your earbuds after they've been through the wash.
It's the tool I had to turn to when burnout happened.
So, there I was, calendar app open, ready to Marie Kondo the heck out of my schedule. You know how she asks, "Does this spark joy?" while holding up a shirt? Well, I was about to do that with every task on my to-do list.
After two weeks of this chronological confessional, my calendar – all color, no white space. Because heaven forbid, we leave a moment unfilled, right?
As Taylor Swift so wisely put it,
"I've got a blank space, baby."
Except instead of writing someone's name, we're cramming in another Zoom call or a "quick" coffee catch-up that inevitably stretches into a two-hour session.
But not this time. This time, it was spring cleaning season for my schedule. I channeled my inner Marie Kondo and asked each task, "Does this spark joy?" One by one.
Most of them didn't. The survivors? Writing, reading, focusing on my Substack, watching new releases in actual cinemas, and walking. Oh, and my full-time job, because I still have to pay rent.
Everything else? Gone. Poof. Erased like your browser history.
Now, I know what you're thinking. "But you don't understand my situation!" "It's not that simple!" "I can't just drop everything!" To which I say: Sure you can. We've all got the same 24 hours in a day.
Yes, there are some non-negotiables. For me, it was the day job. For you, it might be something else. But for everything else? Find a creative way to let it go.
After all, what’s the point of being productive when it makes you miserable?!
I challenge you to do your own time audit. Take a hard look at where your precious minutes are going.
Remember, most of that busy work you're drowning in? It's about as fulfilling as a rice cracker. You deserve better. You deserve joy. You deserve to write.
Do this audit regularly, especially when your schedule starts to feel like it's wearing you instead of the other way around.
This is the sixth post out of 24 essays I plan to write as part of the Sparkle on Substack Essay Club to keep myself accountable and post regularly.
If life often gets in the way of your regular writing and you are a fellow Substacker (which many of you are), I'd recommend you join
’s ’s Essay Club.
Oh I love a time audit! I use them to keep myself on track, and colour-code so I know if I am spending enough time on productive activities or just email in-boxing all week.
Thanks, Jana! It doesn't sound like fun, but it does sound like something I would benefit from. I'll consider this.