We live in a world where groceries, advice and even a hot meal are all available at the touch of a button. So how is it that we seem to have less time than ever? ‘People get into a loop where they use the phrase “I have no time” as a way of self-validating their distress about everything they need to balance,’ says psychologist-turned-author Dr Alice Boyes. But it’s not just internal – businesses profit off the ‘no time’ lie, telling us we don’t have time to cook, exercise or look after ourselves, then rake in the cash with their solutions.
Your brain believes this message and you fall into a short-term mode of thinking where you’re just focusing on keeping your head above water. This leads to the phenomenon of being “too busy chasing cows to build a fence” where you don’t focus on the systems, processes and long- and medium-term planning that would help you lower your stress going forward,’ says Dr Boyes. It’s common to look at the uber-successful and wonder how they do it all. But it’s important to remember that everyone has the same amount of time – people just use it differently. Turn the page to find out how to optimise yours.