Time use
Time and what we do with it has a significant impact on our lives. While everybody has 24 hours in a day, the ways in which these are spent differ from person to person. It depends on our personal preferences and responsibilities, also on how free we are to engage in the activities we like.
Statistics on time use describe people’s everyday lives and preferences, giving detailed information on what time is spent, and providing a wider perspective on participation in the labour market, consumption behaviour, leisure time and family relationships, as well as changes in household composition, people’s well-being and social values.
Time use data show:
- how much time Estonian people devote to sleeping and eating;
- what a young person’s typical day is like;
- how much TV people of different ages watch;
- how time is divided between paid work, household work and leisure activities;
- which day of the week is most common for household work;
- how much time people have left over for exercise, entertainment and relationships with friends;
- how much time is spent each day on getting from place to place;
- how differently men and women and people of different ages use time.
Time use data are necessary to evaluate overall well-being: what people would prefer to do and on what they actually spend their time.