1) Yusra M. Farzan’s Time Log
MORNINGS
Wake up: 6.15am
Read newspaper/watch TV/ Cook/other household tasks: 5 minutes
Get ready: 30 mins
Breakfast: 5 mins
Family time, if any: 10 mins
OFFICE HOURS
Leave home for office at: 7.10am
Time taken to reach office: 1 hour
Office hours: 11 hours (8.20 am – 6.30pm)
Lunch: 40 mins
Leave office at: 6.30pm
Commute time back home: 60-75 mins
Stopovers, if any: 2 hours approx [gym or dinner out]
Reach home at: 10.30pm
AFTER-WORK
Family time: 40 mins
Dinner: 60 mins
Unwind: 60 mins
Sleep: 12 midnight
Socialise: 60 mins
WEEKENDS
Relaxation time: 10 hours (both weekend days)
Errands [in a typical week]: none
Grocery shopping [in a typical week]: none
Bill payment (online or on site): none
General shopping per week: 2 hours
Socialising: 8 hours
Recreation/Sport/Movies/Long drives/Gardening, etc: 2 hours
Other activities: I sometimes bake on the weekends for about 2 hours
@ Per Week
Family time: 50 mins on weekdays; couple of hours during weekends
Working hours: 55
Me-time/Downtime: An hour daily and around 10 hours during weekends
Socialising: An hour on weekdays and 8 hours during weekends
Sleep time [total in a week]: 46 hours
YUSRA’S TAKE:
Yusra M. Farzan, 24, Sri Lankan, who works as a public relations account executive in the capital, does not get to spend enough time with her family and she hopes to change it this year. “I get up quite early and finish up late at work sometimes and this leaves me too exhausted to think of hitting the gym or doing anything other than going out for dinner or a movie. I would like to change that to become more physically active,” she says.
“Looking back on the week I have had, I think I have achieved a semblance of a balance between work and leisure. However, there a lot of changes I would like to make [in my lifestyle]. As I don’t get to spend much time with my family, I am going to make a conscious effort to do more of that. I hope I can implement these changes for a fruitful 2015.”
2) Hussain’s Mawghary’s Time Log
MORNINGS
Wake up at: 5.45am
Read newspaper/watch TV/ Cook/Other household tasks: 0 min
Get ready: 30 mins (5.45 – 6.15)
Breakfast: 15 mins, up to 6.30am
Family time, if any: 20 mins, up to 6.50am (discussion with wife about lunch, items urgently needed, wife going shopping, calling kids’ school to for follow up, etc)
OFFICE HOURS
Leave home for office at: 6.50am
Time taken to reach office: 15 mins
Office hours: 7am-2pm (7 hrs)
Lunch: No
Leave office at: 2pm
Commute time back home: 15 mins
Stopovers, if any: 15 30 mins (for groceries)
Reach home at: 2.30pm
Family time: 30 mins discussion with wife about the morning events
Lunch: 3pm – for approx. 40 mins (with wife and kids)
Unwind: 3.45pm – 4.45pm (a nap)
Fanily time (with children): 5pm–9pm (homework, prepare & review lessons, do projects for school)
Family Time (with spouse): 9 pm-10pm (family issues)
MeTime/Study time: 10pm-1.00am (I’m enrolled in a PhD program in TESOL)
Sleep: 1am
Socialise: No time for socialising during weekdays.
WEEKENDS
Friday
Relax time: Till noon.
Socialising: 8 hours (Noon to 8pm. Picnic/dine out/ visit friends)
Other activities: Using social media apps
Saturday
Relax time: 2 hours
Errands: 1 hour
Grocery shopping: 2 hours
General shopping per week: on site
Socialising: None
Help my kids: 3 hrs
Family Time: 2 hrs
Self-study Time: 3 hrs
Other activities: 1 hr (using social media apps).
Big Picture Per Week
Family time: 22 hours including family weekends’ activities
Office time: 35 hours
Me-time/Downtime: 13 hrs (approx), but 18 hrs inclusive of naps
Errands/tasks: 6 hours (approx)
Socialising: 8 hrs (face to face), but up to 12 hours in all with social media
Recreation/relaxation: 10 hrs (all on one day)
Sleep time total in a week: 50 hrs
Hussain’s take:
Hussain Maghawry, who works as an English teacher in the capital, told Gulf News: “[Work-life balance] depends on one’s age and the stage of your life. About 15 years ago, I was single and I used to work as a part-timer for long hours. At the same time, I used to sleep longer at weekends, and dine out almost every day. Now, I am devoted to my family and kids. The real investment of my time is to be beside my kids to help them with school work.
“I try to achieve a balance between work and rest, but until now have failed in keeping aside an hour a day for jogging. It’s not easy to leave out any tasks from the daily routine. I can’t compress the time taken to teach the kids, as you know school projects and tasks are endless and complicated. How can I ask my kids to conduct daily research on the web and prepare oral presentations, for example, without my guidance and follow-up? Kids are kids, and once the parents are busy, they can’t make the best use of their time. Neither can they do a school task perfectly without a more knowledgeable person, according to great educationalists.
“If I maximise recreation time, it will be at the expense of my kids’ time and my self-study time. In addition to this, I don’t like delaying my work till the last moment. This is why I believe that I work under pressure and don’t manage to achieve the right balance between work and lesisure.”
3) Ahmad Al Sabbahy’s Time Log
MORNINGS
Wake up: 7.30am
Read newspaper/watch TV/ Cook/Other household tasks: 10 minutes
Get ready: 20 minutes
Breakfast: 10 minutes
Family time, if any: N/A
OFFICE HOURS
Leave home for office: 8.30am
Time taken to reach office: 25-30 minutes
Office time: 9 hours
Lunch: 1 hour
Leave office: 6 pm or after
Commute time back home: 30 minutes
Stopovers, if any: 10 minutes
Reach home: 7:30 pm or after
AFTER WORK
Family time: rarely 1 hour
Dinner: N/A
Unwind: exercise for 2 hours
Sleep: 7 hours or less
Socialise: 2–3 hours
WEEKENDS
Relax time: 2 hours per day if applicable
Errands/tasks in a typical week: 1-2 hours of errands – I have MBA classes on Friday and Saturday from 9am to 2 pm
Grocery shopping in a typical week: 1-2 hours
Bill payment (online or on site): rarely 1 hour
General shopping per week: rare.
Socialising: 5+ hours
Recreation/Sport/Movies/Long drives/Gardening, etc: 2 hours
Other activities: N/A
Big Picture Per Week
Family time: 9 hours
Working hours: 50+ hours
Me time/Downtime: 3-4 hours
Errands/tasks: 12+ hours
Socialising: 20-25 hours
Recreation/relaxation: 4-6 hours
Sleep time total in a week: 40-50 hours
Ahmad Al Sabbahy, 24, from Egypt, is an events executive in Abu Dhabi. “I am trying my best to maintain the work-life balance.” he says. “However, it is really hard, especially for my family. The benefits of a happy family and a successful career are worth the effort; however, I am still not able to give my family their due time.”
“I try my best to be as productive as possible at work and focus on my health by dieting and exercising daily. Additionally, I use weekends to get together with friends, so we can have some fun [as an antidote to the daily routine],” he says.
