This weekend I was in a bookstore browsing 2008 calendars and noticed that next year is a Leap Year... February 29th gives us a full extra day - 366 days.

I got to thinking. How often do we say "Geez, if I only had an extra day?" or "I wish I had just a little more time."

Well, 2008 is going to afford each of us a bonus 24 extra hours. That'll give us just over 27 more minutes each week than we had this year.

Leap Year babies will finally get another birthday. (I know a Leap Year baby who is a very successful executive in NYC who will be turning 9 this year).

But, how do you plan to spend your bonus time? Give it some thought. It could be just an extra day page to tear off your calendar or use those 27 minutes to...

• Help others?
• Help yourself?
• Make a difference?
• Spend it with your significant other, your kids, or family?
• Do a 20-minute workout?
• Work on writing that book you've haven't had time for?
• Sleep an extra 20-minutes on the weekend?

What ideas do you have?

The Math

An extra 24 hours = 1440 minutes / 52 weeks = 27.69 minutes -OR- just over 27 minutes each week.

Leap Year: Background

In short, our year is measured by how long it takes the Earth to go around the Sun. It doesn't take 365 days but 365 1/4. Actually... 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds. So, every four years we effectively lose a day. To prevent drift in our calendar we adjust the four year period to be 4,161 instead of 4,160 days. Read more on The "Straight Dope" website.