Categorize Your Time in Life Domains

Managing time effectively can mean the difference between a balanced life and stressful chaos. One powerful time management technique to gain clarity and achieve balance is categorizing your time into life domains. Whether you're new to time management or looking to refine your approach, understanding these domains can help you prioritize your activities and stay aligned with your goals and values.

There are 3 levels of life domains from beginner to advanced. You can start with any of these templates based on your experience with time management then edit or adjust the categorization to fit your individual needs. We will explore how to create these categories using the TimeAlign app, but you can easily apply these templates and the principles of categorization to pretty much any calendar.

Beginner - You, Relationships, and Work

The simplest category setup includes only 3 basic domains: you, relationships, and work. This approach is described by Nir Eyal in his book Indistractable.

You, relationships, and work. These three domains outline where we spend our time. They give us a way to think about how we plan our day so that we can become an authentic reflection of the people we want to be. In order to live our values in each of these domains, we must reserve time in our schedule to do so. Only by setting aside specific time in our schedules for traction, the actions that draw us towards what we want in life, can we turn our backs on distraction. ― Nir Eyal, Indistractable

If you aren’t experienced with time management or schedule categorization, this might be the best place for you to start. You can decide what fits into each of these 3 categories and define it within the TimeAlign category details. You can also get more granular within each category by creating specific activities to track. Here is an overview of what each category means:

You (Personal)

This includes any activity that you do for yourself or by yourself outside of your job. It may include exercise, sleep, cooking + eating, planning, reading, writing, hobbies, and single player games.

Relationships

This includes any activity where you are spending time with others or your intention is to strengthen relationships outside of your job. It may include quality time with loved ones, family dinners, lunch with a friend, a phone call to your mom, and playing games with friends.

Work

This includes any activity that you need to do for your job. This may include work tasks, time “on the clock”, or anything that you are getting paid to do.

Intermediate - 5 Pillars

Our next template is the 5 Pillars approach. The 5 pillars expands a bit on You, Relationships, and Work by further defining these 3 categories and adding a couple new ones. Again, this template is only a starting point, so you should edit these domains as you see fit.

Personal + Learning

This includes any activity that you do for yourself or by yourself outside of your job, outside of health activities, and outside of spiritual practices. It may include planning, school, reading, writing, hobbies, and single player games.

Health + Fitness

This activity includes anything related to your health and wellness. It may include all forms of exercise, eating, medical, sleep, and other forms of rest.

Relationships + Community

This includes any activity where you are spending time with other or your intention is to strengthen relationships outside of your job. It may include quality time with loved ones, family dinners, lunch with a friend, a phone call to your mom, playing games with friends, and any community events.

Work + Financial

This includes any activity that you need to do for your job or anything that has to do with your personal finances. This may include work tasks, time “on the clock”, anything that you are getting paid to do, and any personal accounting tasks.

Spiritual + Religious

This includes anything that you do to enrich your spirit or strengthen your relationship with your God(s). It may include praying, certain forms of meditation, spiritual traditions, and religious ceremonies.

Advanced - Time Management Master

The most advanced life domain template is the Time Management Master approach. If you already have a lot of experience categorizing your time, this approach might feel the most natural to you. The Time Management Master looks at their calendar as a blank canvas, 24 hours long and 7 days wide, and their life domains as the paint. Every week is an opportunity to build a path to an ideal future—one colorful timeblock at a time.

At this advanced level, the goal is to understand your time allocation more clearly and get more granular with your categorization. Instead of broad domains, you will get specific with how you track your time and try to build ideal personalized schedules.

The downside to this approach is the greater overhead cost of delineating categories and defining what activity goes where. Currently, TimeAlign doesn’t allow multiple activities assigned to a single timeblock, but in the future, you will be able to assign multiple activities from different categories to a single timeblock—much like a “tag”.

This is how I personally like to define my life domains. It’s much more individual to my life and how I spend my time. For example, I choose to separate “TimeAlign” into its own category because it is the top priority in my life right now. Everyone is different, so your categories should be specific to your life.

Conclusion

Mastering the art of time management through life domains can transform your daily routine into a purposeful, balanced journey. By categorizing your time, you gain clarity on where your energy goes and ensure that each aspect of your life receives the attention it deserves. Whether you start with the basic categories of You, Relationships, and Work, expand to the 5 Pillars, or delve into the intricate Time Management Master approach, TimeAlign’s flexible time management system can help you balance your life domains and build a path to a more ideal future.