Welcome to week two of the weekly articles from the 72 Hours Life Community. Each week we take one idea from There Are 72 Hours in a Day and The 72 Hours in a Day Workbook and turn it into something you can use immediately.
Last week you tracked where your hours actually go. This week we take the harder step: deciding where they go before anyone else does. Your next 72 hours will be spent no matter what you do. The only question is who spends them — you, or whoever shows up with a request.
Step One: Put Your Green Blocks In First
Before the week begins — Sunday evening works well — open your calendar and place three or four green blocks first. Green blocks are the things that move your life forward: health, family, craft, growth, the work only you can do. Place them as fixed appointments with yourself, not suggestions. What gets placed first gets protected; what gets placed last gets postponed.
Step Two: Name the One Thing
Write down the single outcome that would make this week a win. Not five goals. One. Put it where you will see it Monday morning. A week with one name in it pulls in one direction; a week with seven names pulls apart.
Step Three: Give the Reds an Appointment
You will not eliminate the drains, so stop trying. Put the scroll, the binge, the wandering hour into a scheduled box with a start time and an end time. A red block with an end time is a break. A red block without one is a leak.
This Week: The Sunday Twenty
Set a recurring twenty-minute appointment with yourself at the same time every week. Review the week behind you, place your greens for the week ahead, and name your one thing. Twenty minutes on Sunday is the cheapest hour you will ever buy.
Go deeper: The 72 Hours in a Day Workbook on Amazon. Bring your questions: join the community here and send us your biggest time challenge. We answer reader questions in these weekly articles.