How much free time do you actually have?
A week has 168 hours. Change the numbers below to match your week, and your free hours update as you type, with a chart of where the rest goes and ideas that fit the time that is left.
How the calculator works
Every week has 168 hours. The calculator takes away the hours that are already spoken for: sleep and getting ready each day, meals, work or study, the commute, chores and errands, and anything else you have committed to. What is left is time that could be yours.
The numbers start filled in, so you see a result straight away. Change any of them to match your week and the result updates as you type. Daily items are multiplied by seven; weekly items are used as they are. Blank or impossible values count as zero or as the most a day can hold.
What counts as free time
Free time is the time you get to decide about. An hour on the sofa with your phone counts, even if it does not feel restful, because you could choose to use it differently. Time you have promised to someone else, like a weekly practice, a class you teach or looking after a relative, belongs under other commitments.
Be honest rather than ideal. If cooking and eating really takes two hours a day, put two. The point is to see your actual week, not the week you think you should have.
What to do with the number
A number on its own changes nothing. What helps is giving a small part of it a name and a time. Pick one block this week, put it in your calendar and decide now what it is for: a walk, a film, a café with a book, a long lunch on your own. The ideas under your result are sized to the time you have.
If the number is smaller than you hoped, look at one item, not all of them. An hour less of errands, or a commute spent reading instead of answering messages, already moves it.
Questions about free time
How do I calculate my free time?
Start with 168 hours, the length of a week. Subtract sleep, work or study, commuting, meals, chores, getting ready and other fixed commitments. The rest is your free time per week; divide it by seven for a daily figure.
Is my number good or bad?
Neither. It is not a score and it is not compared with anyone. It only describes your week as it is, so you can decide what to do with it.
What if the result is zero?
Then your week is full right now, and that is worth knowing. Look for one thing that could shrink by an hour, or one evening where something could wait. That hour can be yours.
Does a lie-in count as sleep or free time?
Sleep if you need it, free time if you choose it. Either works; the calculator only needs your best guess.
Do you store my numbers?
No. Everything is worked out in your browser and nothing is sent to us. Your numbers sit in the page address, so you can bookmark or share the result.