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Charles Huntzinger

Professor Pitas

RPTM 120

Time Diary Reflection Paper

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Documenting your days activities may not seem to be the most interesting way to

spend a few hours of your month, but it certainly provides you with data points that may

influence your future behaviors and activities. The three days that I documented my time,

provided data to analyze my personal, work, and leisure activities, coupled with my interactions

with others, and my emotional and stress levels. My reflection on these activities is provided

within this paper along with an analysis of the overall use of my time, my perceptions on the

time famine and time deepening, my emotional and stress variables, and the impact on my

health and perspective on longevity.

Overall, I used my time in the following categories: 13.5 hours for work, almost 35 hours

were for personal leisure and 15.5 were on leisure activities over 3 days. The most surprising

thing about my time use was the amount of leisure time that I actually have, compared to the

amount I feel like I have when I look at my overall day. I was surprised my leisure time only took

up 22% of the three days, or 15.5 hours, when I expected to have had more than that. The

category that took up most of my time was personal at 50%. I did expect that category to take

up the most amount of time because it includes my sleep time, as well as the time spent doing

personal chores and everyday living activities. Ironically, there was not much difference

between the two week days and the weekend day that I chose. The weekend day occurred

during our golf season. That day would be much different in terms of my activities if we were

not in season. Having said that, my two week days looked similar in activities to that particular

weekend day. As discussed in class on September 29th on leisure and physical health, I am both

similar and different to the population. I am different from the population in that I achieve

more than the average amount of physical activity per week; however, I am similar in the 10.5
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hours of screen time spent daily (Pitas, 2017, p.11). I spend the most amount of time watching

TV as my leisure activity, while almost 80% of my leisure time involves technology. Of the

leisure time I had during these three days, which accumulated to 14 hours, I spent 11.33 hours

with others (80%) and only 2.67 hours by myself (20%).

The topic of time famine means the real or perceived lack of free time (Pitas, 2017, p.9).

The definition of time deepening is the strategies that emphasize getting more done in the

same amount of time, without fully experiencing any of the activities (Pitas, 2017, p.21). I do

not often experience time deepening in my daily leisure activities because I am fully engaged

and I allow ample time to experience them. However, when it comes to my work activities, I

tend to cram them all together in a shortened amount of time. These activities include studying

for exams, writing a paper, or working on a project which I tend to underestimate the required

amount of time to complete the activity and thus I experience time deepening. As for time

famine, I experience this perception in my leisure activities. This time diary demonstrated to me

that roughly 25% of my day is spent in leisure activities. I never thought that I had six hours per

day to spend on leisure activities because so much of my day is spent on personal activities in

classrooms, practice, and chores. This time diary helped me understand time famine and how I

can avoid this perception. I now understand there is always extra free time as long as the tasks I

need to complete are done in the time required, not taking an excessive amount. I can also map

out my day better so I know exactly how long my tasks should take, so I know how much free

time I would have in between them.

The definition of emotion is a conscious mental reaction (such as anger or fear)

subjectively experienced as a strong feeling usually directed toward a specific object and
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typically accompanied by physiological and behavioral change in the body (Merriam-Webster

n.d.). The definition of stress is the pervasiveness in our lives. It is our response to events that

disrupt, or threaten to disrupt, our optimal level of functioning (Pitas, 2017, p.6). Throughout

most of the days in my phase I recordings, my emotional levels were fairly consistent, usually

ranging between -2 and 2. My stress levels were typically less than 5, other than a few isolated

occurrences. Overall, my stress levels were average and my emotions were also average. I

experienced the most stress during these three days when I had to take a class quiz in an

unfamiliar setting in a short period of time. I also experienced higher stress during golf

qualifying activities. I am least stressed during my leisure activities which include watching TV. I

have a few instances on both week day and weekend days that influence my stress levels.

During the week, it is normally classwork related, and on the weekends, it is normally golf or

sport related. I experience more positive emotions when I am with my teammates, at our

apartment, or while practicing. I experience negative emotions when I have to do an

assignment for class or when Im doing chores at my apartment. As discussed in class on

October 22, 2017, there is a relationship between leisure and our emotional health. Leisure

activities can positively change our negative emotions. There are three pathways for a change.

The three pathways include intervention, outcomes, and landscapes. An intervention is used to

intentionally change your emotional attitude such as going for a quick run. Participation in a

moderate to long-term activity, such as weight loss or improved fitness, can also improve ones

emotional health. Finally, the actual place where the activity occurs can also change ones

emotional attitude (Pitas, 2017, p. 18).

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The definition of health is the soundness of body and mind; freedom from disease or

ailment (Dictionary.com n.d.). Lifespan perspective, as discussed in class, is the perception

that people are living longer (around 80 years on average) than they were 50 years ago and

their health concerns are now focused on chronic conditions instead of infectious diseases

(Pitas, 2017, p.6). In the words of Ren Dubos, health is primarily a measure of each persons

ability to do and become what he wants to become (Miller-Keane Encyclopedia, n.d.). My

leisure choices support my health in that I am physically active for more than 5 hours each

week, either with practice or working out. Being able to work out daily and eat balanced meals

keeps me fit and in a positive state to be successful. Being physically active each day allows me

to get stronger and build a foundation in which I can live a healthy life down the road. If I were

to change a current behavior in my routine, it would be to decrease the amount of TV I watch.

Instead of watching TV, I could replace it with more exercise or practice, or something more

stimulating for my brain, like doing extra school work or solving a puzzle, problem, or riddle.

In conclusion, most of us have a perception about how our day is spent. While many

believe perception is reality, this activity was very informative and proved that my perception

of my time use was quite different than actual. Preparing a time diary gives you real data that

can be used to understand your current activity behavior, modify it for changes to positively

impact your emotions and well-being, but also encourage you to change patterns to reduce

stress and improve your lifespan.

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Works Cited

Emotion. (n.d.) In Merriam-Webster online. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-

webster.com/dictionary/emotion

Health. (n.d.). In Dictionary.com Unabridged online. Retrieved

from http://www.dictionary.com/browse/health?s=t

health. (n.d.) Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health,
Seventh Edition. (2003). Retrieved November 16 2017 from https://medical-
dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/health

Pitas, Nicholas. (2017). LEISURE, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, AND HEALTH. Personal Collection of
Nicholas Pitas, Penn State University, State College, Pennsylvania.

Pitas, Nicholas. (2017). LEISURE, STRESS, AND COPING. Personal Collection of Nicholas Pitas,
Penn State University, State College, Pennsylvania.

Pitas, Nicholas. (2017). TIME DEEPENING AND FAMINE. Personal Collection of Nicholas Pitas,
Penn State University, State College, Pennsylvania.