Sixty per cent of people surveyed by the Pew Research Center said they sometimes felt too busy to enjoy life. We asked experts for some tips on things we can do to feel more in charge of our time.
1. ABANDON THE IDEA OF BEING ALL CAUGHT UP
Your to-do list will never end, said Thomas Curran, the author of The Perfection Trap: Embracing The Power Of Good Enough. So build your tolerance for leaving that list unfinished, he said.
“We end our days obsessing over our unchecked boxes instead of celebrating our wins,” said Amantha Imber, the author of Time Wise: Powerful Habits, More Time, Greater Joy. So Dr Imber recommended completing the sentence “Today I made progress on … ” at each day’s end. Researchers call this practise a “savouring intervention,” and they say that it can improve confidence.
2. THINK ABOUT YOUR SITUATION’S URGENCY
Chris Guillebeau, the author of Time Anxiety: The Illusion Of Urgency And A Better Way To Live, said people can sometimes cause you “time anxiety” by pulling you into something they consider urgent, creating a “false deadline.” When this happens, he said, ask yourself: Is this actually urgent?
Another person’s emergency, Guillebeau said, does not have to become yours. If it’s possible, you can ask, “Is this a high priority, or can I finish the other things I’m working on first?”
3. CONSIDER BRINGING YOUR B GAME
Do you need to bake cookies for your book club, or will store-bought do? Can that Zoom meeting be a quick phone call instead, while you take a reviving walk?
Be alert for those moments when you are needlessly giving it your all and could give, say, 75 per cent instead, Guillebeau recommended.
4. REDEFINE “VALUABLE” TIME
Fight the impulse to view downtime as unproductive, Dr Curran said: “It isn’t wasted at all.”
He sets an alarm for himself that goes off every day at 5.30pm. It’s a recording of his toddler asking to play with him.
“It reminds me that whatever I’m doing, it can probably wait,” Dr Curran said. Often some of your happiest memories will be events that are “mundane and ordinary,” he said, so make time for them if you can.
By Jancee Dunn © The New York Times Company
The article originally appeared in The New York Times.
