Leisure Time Clock

Equipment/Supplies:
Handout a piece of paper to each participant with a picture of a clock on it;pencils; yellow, blue, green, and red crayons,markers or colored pencils.

Group Size:
Individual or small groups

Possible Populations:
Any

Program Goals:
To increase participants’ awareness of how time is spent on a day to day basis
To increase participants’ ability to identify leisure participation patterns
To increase participants’ ability to explore future recreation patterns

Description:
Invite participants to sit around a table. Explain to them that the purpose of the activity is to increase their awareness of how their time is spent, as well as their leisure patterns and choices.
Distribute a handout and pencil to each person;also give each a blue, yellow, red, and greencrayon. Explain the activity to the participants.
Each participant should color in the time of day according to what they usually do at that time (ie.Work, leisure, self-care, misc.).
Allow twenty minutes to complete the handout and to answer the questions.
Hold a discussion about what the participants discovered about their day to day living that they might not have realized before. Focus on any changes that a person may desire.

Processing Questions:
What takes up the most of your time?
How satisfied are you with how you spend your time?
From what activities do you get the most satisfaction?
What changes would you like to make in how you spend your time?
What actions would you have to take to make those changes?
What did you learn about your leisure and how you spend your time from this activity today?

Leadership/Facilitation Techniques:
Utilize this activity as part of a leisure education program to identify leisure needs and as a motivator toward needed changes. Change the categories if the participants are not currently employed.

Expected Outcomes:
Participants recognize changes they need to make to have time for leisure activities. Can realize where most of their time is spent and if they want to spend that much time one specific event or if they want to make changes to their schedule.

Variations:
After the participants fill out a time clock on how they currently spend their time, ask them to complete a second time clock about how they would like to spend their time. Compare the differences.