What to do when 24 hours aren’t enough

You have probably expressed frustration at least once by saying, “There is not enough time for anything!” You’re not the only one. But for a variety of reasons, we are all busy people.

You can change your way of living and thinking, though, so you don’t have to keep complaining about not getting enough sleep every day, whatever the reason. This is the procedure to follow.

The effect of urgency

The urgency effect is a tendency to prioritize complex and urgent tasks, postponing less important and easy ones for later. For example, imagine that you are talking to your girlfriend about the past day and notice that a reminder about tomorrow’s visit to the dentist is displayed on your phone.

You may feel an urgency and want to immediately add the appointment time to your calendar by disconnecting from the call. But then you’ll think, “It’s a pity I have so little time to talk to a girl.” To overcome the effect of urgency, you must highlight what is really important to you. For example, to reflect: Is it worth postponing a conversation with a girl right now, or can visiting the dentist on the calendar wait a little?

The prejudice of complexity

We tend to give undue preference to complex solutions over simple ones. Often, the easiest way out of a situation with a lack of time is to give yourself up to the moment that you have. For example, if you value caring for your body, you don’t have to be in the gym daily.

But you can monitor your posture daily, not buy fast food, and take breaks to warm up while working. Following and spending much time on your values doesn’t have to be challenging. It is only essential to find the right approach.

Fix the planning errors

Your concern about whether there will be enough time for the situations you mention increases with their number. It’s critical to maintain planning realism in order to avoid making this error. It could appear that you have that much time if you work eight hours.

But if you think about how many minutes are taken up by breaks, chatting with colleagues, and sudden meetings, it becomes clear that there are fewer “productive hours.” Learning how to calculate time is essential, considering side factors that cannot be avoided.

You can have five hours between when you come home and go to bed, but three are taken away by cleaning, washing dishes, and dinner. Understand that some limitations and limits are worth considering. Time cannot be stretched to fill your to-do list.

Discard “excellent” in favor of “satisfactory”

An often overlooked aspect of time anxiety is how we think about the future. Many of us strain ourselves trying to make the best possible choice, forgetting there is no “perfect solution.” Trying to maximize your time today, tomorrow, and every day after that will lead to even more anxiety about not having enough.

Stop being a perfectionist if you don’t want to waste many hours. If there is an opportunity to do the job satisfactorily and not excellently, I do just that. You may be surprised how much easier it will be for you and your daily breathing schedule.

The Zeigarnik effect

As a result, we tend to recall incomplete tasks more vividly than finished ones. This is why, when preparing dinner, you unintentionally think of everything you need to buy for a different supper the next day while sitting at the office. You remember everything that you didn’t have time to complete at work.

To solve puzzles and finish tasks, the brain is sharpened. It would help if you learned to refocus your attention to avoid the Zeigarnik effect and the sense that nothing is getting done. Pay attention to what you are doing now rather than to incomplete activities. Not only does this help with discomfort management, but it also speeds up tasks.

Work on a sense of control

We often feel that we do not have enough time, not because we do not have it but because we think we cannot control it. Life circumstances, such as non-negotiable working hours or children who constantly wake up at night, can shape this perception.

Try to do everything possible to gain a sense of control over your time. For example, you can start by optimizing your to-do list or practice saying no to people you don’t want to help.

Let go of what you can’t achieve

There are two great ways to deal with a task you plan but can’t do: overcome and complete the pain or give up. Sometimes, the second choice turns out to be the right one.

For example, you can plan a vacation abroad for ten years but realize that you probably won’t be able to afford it simultaneously. Is it worth giving up simpler pleasures for a dream that may not come true? Perhaps you must reconsider your views and invest energy in other activities that bring joy.

Dreams can also drain our mental, emotional, and physical resources, even if they seem perfect. Sometimes, it’s worth giving them up in favor of being happier now, not later.