This sample shows a typical week with workdays, daily essentials, plus a realistic buffer.
| Input | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Total weekly hours | 168 | 24 hours × 7 days |
| Sleep per day | 8 | 56 hours weekly |
| Workdays | 5 | Standard workweek |
| Work hours per workday | 8 | 40 hours weekly |
| Commute per workday | 1 | 5 hours weekly |
| Personal care and meals per day | 2 | 14 hours weekly |
| Family and chores per day | 1 | 7 hours weekly |
| Other daily blocks per day | 1 | 7 hours weekly |
| Exercise (weekly) | 5 | Fitness sessions |
| Buffer (weekly) | 4 | Unexpected tasks |
| Result: Available hours | 30 | About 4.29 hours per day |
The calculator converts your daily and weekly commitments into weekly totals, then subtracts them from your available weekly hours.
Uniform mode multiplies per-day items by 7 and workday items by the number of workdays.
- Select Uniform weekly pattern for quick planning, or Per-day planning for detail.
- Enter your total weekly hours. Keep 168 unless your week is constrained.
- Fill in the hours you commit to sleep, work, and essential routines.
- Add weekly blocks like exercise, appointments, and a buffer.
- Click Calculate to view available hours, breakdown, and daily view.
- Use Download CSV or Download PDF to save your report.
Converting a week into capacity
A week holds 168 hours, so the calculator starts with that ceiling. If you enter 8 hours of sleep daily, it allocates 56 hours, leaving 112 for everything else. This framing makes tradeoffs visible: a one‑hour sleep increase changes capacity by 7 hours weekly. Set 160 for travel weeks to tighten all percentages.
Fixed versus flexible commitments
Work, study, and commuting often behave like fixed blocks. For example, 5 workdays × 8 hours equals 40 hours, and a 1‑hour commute adds 5 more. Daily essentials such as meals and personal care at 2 hours per day add 14 weekly. When these “must do” hours rise, discretionary time shrinks first. Track chores at 1 hour daily (7 weekly) and you can test whether batching chores into 3 longer sessions frees evenings.
Reading the breakdown and daily view
The breakdown table converts each category into a percent of your week. If work plus commute is 45 hours, that is 26.79% of 168. Sleep at 56 hours is 33.33%, while a 4‑hour buffer is 2.38%. The daily view then shows where free hours cluster, helping you reserve longer blocks for deep work and shorter blocks for admin tasks. In per‑day mode, daily totals above 24 trigger warnings, which is a quick sanity check for overcommitment.
Targets and buffers that prevent overload
A target free‑hours goal acts like a budget. If you target 32 free hours but the calculator shows 26, the 6‑hour gap highlights what to renegotiate. A weekly buffer of 4–6 hours is practical for interruptions; without it, plans rely on perfect weeks and usually fail by midweek. If your buffer is always consumed, treat it as a real commitment and lower targets until results stabilize.
Turning available hours into a weekly plan
Use available hours to assign priorities, not to fill every slot. A stable rule is to allocate about 60% of free time to primary goals, 20% to learning or health, and 20% to recovery and social time. For 30 free hours, that’s 18 hours goals, 6 hours growth, 6 hours recovery. Recalculate weekly to track trends and adjust before fatigue accumulates.
1) What does “available hours” represent?
Available hours are your weekly free time after subtracting planned commitments from total weekly hours. It reflects realistic capacity for goals, rest, and discretionary activities.
2) When should I use Uniform versus Per-day mode?
Use Uniform mode when your weekdays look similar and you want fast planning. Choose Per-day mode when shifts, classes, or family duties vary by day and you need accuracy.
3) How do I pick a buffer value?
Start with 4–6 hours weekly for interruptions, delays, and unplanned tasks. Increase it if your schedule frequently breaks, or reduce it only after several stable weeks.
4) What does the target gap tell me?
The gap compares your calculated free hours to a goal. A positive value means surplus capacity; a negative value indicates a shortfall and shows how many hours you must reclaim or rescope.
5) Why do I see warnings about exceeding 24 hours?
In Per-day mode, totals above 24 indicate over-planning on that day. The warning helps you correct inputs so the weekly available-hours result matches real, physically possible time.
6) How can I share results with my team or coach?
Calculate once, then use the CSV for spreadsheets or the PDF for a simple report. Exports use your latest calculated values, making it easy to compare weeks consistently.