You Don’t Have 24 Hours. You Have 168.

I recently read this article by Jeff Haden, and it completely reframed how I think about time.

We’re all given 168 hours each week. The difference isn’t who has more. It’s how we use it.

Instead of thinking about my days, I’ve started thinking in weekly energy blocks:

• 50 hours of work
• 56 hours of sleep
• 20–30 for family and personal commitments
• That still leaves 30+ hours.

I didn’t believe it at first, either. But when I started tracking my time (even roughly), I realized I was wasting hours on things that weren’t aligned with my goals.

So now, I focus on buying time back:

• I say no more often, and I mean it.
• I automate or delegate tasks that don’t need my brain.
• I permit myself to be unavailable + and I communicate that.

At Microsoft, our calendars are our battlegrounds. But you gain perspective when you zoom out and look at the full 168. You gain clarity. Most importantly, you reclaim your time.

We don’t need more hours. We need better choices.