This is part of our series on The Simple Living Manifesto. We invite you to join us on the journey.

The third idea in the manifesto is:

Evaluate your time. How do you spend your day? What things do you do, from the time you wake up to the time you go to sleep? Make a list, and evaluate whether they’re in line with your priorities. If not, eliminate the things that aren’t, and focus on what’s important. Redesign your day.

Can I just start off by saying things have turned upside down this week in my life. Monday evening we received a phone call that we were getting two foster boys placed in our home. While we more than thrilled, it sure makes living simply a much bigger deal in my mind.

Not only does the way I live affect me and my wife — it also affects two little boys who are living with us and now learning from us. So wow — things have changed!

Here’s my pre-boys daily agenda…

6:30-7:15 Get up. Prep for the day.

7:15-8:00 Commute to work.

8-1ish Work

1-2 Lunch (If I take a lunch. Far too often I spend time eating at my desk while working on other things.)

2-4:30 Work

4:30-5:30 Commute home

5:30-6:15 Fix dinner

6:15-6:45 Eat

6:45 till bedtime (10:30 – 12) TV, reading, checking RSS feeds, blogging, etc.

Even before the boys came I knew I needed to make some adjustments to simplify.

Earlier this week I unsubscribed to 60+ blogs in my RSS reader — need to get rid of others. I’m down to around 250 and hope to get it below 200 by early next week. My RSS feeds can easily become an addiction as I’m constantly trying to keep up with what’s going on in various places — but in reality — most folks are saying the same thing over and over again.

I also set a goal for this year to be sure I actually take a lunch break this year. I haven’t done so good at it yet but especially with the boys at home now, I hope to use it for more “me time” rather than work time. I want to use it as a time to read and re-focus each day, rather than taking up as much time in the evening when I’d rather be focusing on my #2 – My wife (aka My Life) & my family.

So those are my two biggest changes I hope to accomplish so that I can live simply. What about you?

Join us!

Write a blog post about the point from the Simple Living Manifesto above and then share the link in the comments below…

You may also enjoy reading ::

• Simple Manifesto #70: Leave space around things in your day
• The Simple Manifesto #21 – Spend time alone
• The Simple Manifesto #18 – Free up time
• The Simple Manifesto #4 – Simplify work tasks