How many hours in your day?

This morning I was doing some blog reading. I ran across this post on the ZenHabits blog.

http://zenhabits.net/2007/12/how-many-hours-are-in-your-day/

Here is an excerpt:

"...But I sleep about 6 hours a day. Maybe 2 hours are spent eating. Another 2 hours for grooming and driving. Another 3 hours for getting stuff ready for my kids, cooking, cleaning. Another 5 hours doing routine stuff at work and with the blog. Maybe another hour doing errands, paying bills, going to the grocery store, or whatever else needs to be done. Another 2 hours doing communication: email, IM, phones, etc..."

Can you see some zones within his day?

In addition to "spending" hours he has some natural zones in his life. Each zone offers another level of unique opportunity.

For example, I am sure we can all relate to "...hours for grooming..." My question is this. Within your grooming zone do you see your opportunities? This is typically a morning ritual for most of us. Have you captured the opportunity to design your grooming space to...

- see an inspiring quote?
- listen to an inspiring song?
- listen to an interesting podcast?
- read an affirmation?
- capture a thought?

Are you leaving your grooming zone left to chance? Do you leave this zone inspired or frazzled to get to the next thing that needs to be done?

Here are some simple changes I made to my grooming zone that profoundly changed how I engage with each day:

(1) I bought a small iPod station to dock my iPod. This allows me to listen to my favorite podcasts and inspiring music.

(2) I placed junior legal pads in this space. At this time in the morning all my 'great' ideas seem to pour out of me. The pads allow me to capture the ideas. I used to think my ideas were so great that I would never for get them. No such luck. Capturing on paper prevents them from going down the drain.

I made just two simple changes. Is there one change or an experiment you want to try?

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Also, as you transition from this zone, what can be carried forward to another zone? Is there a linkage that you are leaving left to chance?

In my example, I take the ideas from my junior legal pad and put them in my personal and professional inbox for my GTD processing. This creates a linkage from this zone to my work zone to my GTD projects and next actions list.

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One last tip... are you flossing enough? Choose a favorite song and have at it. I can now look my dentist straight in the eye and say "yes, I am flossing." :)

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Here are some link that may interest you:
Apple 4 GB iPod nano AAC/MP3 Player Silver (3rd Generation)

Logitech mm32 Portable iPod Speaker System (Black) (If you are a traveler, this travels well too)

Tops Business Forms / Recycled Perf-Top Junior Legal Pad, 15 Lb., 5"x8", Canary / TOP74840