Feeling Overwhelmed By Time? You’re Not Alone

Lately, I have become aware that I am acutely suffering with time anxiety.

Let me explain and you can see if you are, too. 

In the last few months, I have noticed that I have become increasingly anxious when my spare time, or my planning time, has ended up being used in a way I didn’t intend. Let me give you an example. It’s a Saturday, and in my mind, I’m going to have some time to read, or to sit still, or do something without agenda, but I end up having to do stuff (normal stuff, food shopping, emails, chores, cooking etc) and the day runs away with me and the rest time doesn’t happen. Or when my husband suggests we plan something to do over the summer and when usually I would be totally up for this I am just feeling like time is being sucked out of my diary and I can’t see why it would be fun to do.  

This is a form of time anxiety, a concept that one of my favourite authors has just written a book about. As I read his explanation of the concept, I realised that as much as I thought I had made progress with my relationship with time (I have), I still have so far to go.  

Time Anxiety, as explored in the book of the same name by Chris Guillebeau, comes in two main forms: daily routine and existential. Let me explain. 

This type of anxiety arises from the constant pressure to manage daily tasks efficiently. Individuals experience stress from the belief that they must respond to emails promptly, attend every meeting, and maintain a perfectly organised schedule. Guillebeau describes this as a fear of falling behind, leading to a cycle of chronic rushing and overstimulation. He emphasises that this anxiety often stems from unrealistic expectations and misaligned priorities, rather than a lack of time. I have been so busy, juggling so many important things that I have slipped into a serious case of daily routine time anxiety, meaning I am rushing, multi-tasking, squeezing everything I can from every single day, which is leading to resentment, frustration, and actually a lack of productivity. I’m working on it. Despite the overarching narrative being one of daily routine time anxiety, I am fighting hard to resist - walks with friends, exercise, reading before bed, putting new measures of restriction on phone, all working to slow my brain down which has well and truly gone into overdrive.

Existential time anxiety is a deeper, more pervasive fear related to the passage of time and the potential for missed opportunities. It encompasses worries about not achieving life goals, feeling that time is running out, or being uncertain about how to spend one’s time meaningfully. Guillebeau notes that this form of anxiety is prevalent in modern society, where individuals often feel they should be doing something important but are unsure what that is. Now this kind of time anxiety is what leads people to want to work with me and think about their purpose. What am I doing with my life? Time is passing and am I doing the things I want to, the things that give me meaning? This is a form of time anxiety. 

The good news is, both of these forms of time anxiety can be of use to us, if they help us bring about CHANGE in our life. Things don’t have to stay as they are. As I read the pages of Chris’s book, I realised that I had slipped into a chronic case of daily route anxiety. Now, I need to do something about it. 

And I would love to help you too. In fact, I want to help so much that I wrote a book that will help you with existential time anxiety (preorder here) and give you the tools to help you get your true strengths under control so you reduce your daily routine anxiety.

I’ve also done something that will help you right now - I am delighted to say I got to interview Chris for my podcast! True story - I’ve been a paying subscriber of his substack for ages and I have read most of his previous books, so I sent him an email saying how much I enjoyed his work and would he come on my podcast, and would he also consider prereading my book! Amazingly, Chris said YES to both (case in point of if you don’t ask, you don’t get). 

So, this week’s podcast is a fantastic exploration of the key concepts of Chris’s book, Time Anxiety and I wholeheartedly recommend it to you. As well as covering all the stuff above, we also look at:

✦ time blindness and how it’s not just a neurodivergent issue (another major lightbulb moment for me as I definitely also suffer from this)

✦ the time rules we live by (often unknowingly)

✦ the illusion of productivity - inbox and chore tyranny (hello, another day lost to to-dos)

✦ when time shifts - aging, grief and awareness 

✦ the day vs year

✦ tools for the time-anxious 

✦ the power of the reverse bucket list (such a great idea)

This episode really is a must-listen and I can’t wait to listen back to it again myself - it is jam packed with helpful advice, wisdom on the subject and realistic shifts we can make. I loved talking to Chris and I cannot recommend his work highly enough.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this one - how does time anxiety show up in your life? What bit of the episode resonated the most?

Love, 

Hannah x

P.S. You can find out more about Chris’s work here. Or his book, Time Anxiety, here. Or keep up with him on his instagram!

P.P.S. You can read Chris’s endorsement of my book, here.