Five Ways to Relieve the Pressure of Time & Be Happier

Lately, there never seems to be enough time. It feels more and more like I’m in a race (or even a struggle) against the clock. I have been putting an immense amount of pressure on myself to “get things done” whether it be my writing, my studying or preparing for my upcoming workshops.

The pressure of each passing moment keeps squeezing me tighter and tighter and I don’t always like the feelings that come out: stress, frustration, anxiety and even guilt are among them. Not so spiritual, right?

It’s an odd paradox. I work hard to become more spiritual, but sometimes the harder I work, the less spiritual I feel. Especially when I get wrapped up in issues around my time.

To be fair, I’ve never really seen time as an issue in my personal or spiritual development. But I recently got a comment on an article I published with Tiny Buddha. The article was all about expressing mastery through spirituality. The commenter mentioned (her) fear of wasting time and ultimately running out of time before she can reach her goals. There is a profound feeling of anxiousness or even guilt when we approach time in this way.

I certainly can relate. On my best days, I see time as that precious resource—a commodity to be used and spent in the pursuit of my goals. On my worse days, time is little more than an adversary—the villain that stands in the way of my dreams. It is something to be opposed, controlled or manipulated.

I’ll admit that neither outlook is very spiritual, productive or even healthy.

So let’s take a few minutes to look at the relationship between time, our goals and ourselves.

Interestingly, scientists can’t even find the thing we call “time”. Some have likened time to the flight of an arrow and the currents of a flowing river. Yet physics does not support a flowing model of time. In fact, it is likely that it doesn’t move at all. The math seems to suggest that time is merely an illusion, or if it does exist, nobody knows what it really is. So if time doesn’t exist, how can it have such a profound effect on us?

Perception.

Whether or not time exists and how it works is irrelevant to our daily lives. These questions are best left to the scientists. What is important is how we see time. Perception is key.

Here are five limiting perceptions about time and how we can counteract them:

1) “THERE’S NOT ENOUGH TIME!”

How often do you find yourself saying these words? Quite a lot, I’ll bet. Listen to the undertone of this statement—this belief. It is filled with limitation and consequential anxiety. It’s normal to feel anxious when there’s a lot to do, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
Action: Try looking at time in a different way. Resist the habit to see time as a commodity that you can use or spend in the pursuit of your goals. This perception only reinforces the idea that time is scarce. Time could likely be eternal, for all we know. So how can looking at time in a different way help someone get things done faster?
By changing your perception about a thing, you change how that thing effects you. If you believe that something is impossible—it most likely will be for you. But if you see something as achievable, you will be open to new ways that make it so. Likewise, if you see time as abundant, rather than scarce, it is far more likely that you will be less anxious about how much time you have. If you don’t waste time worrying about time, you might have more of it to work with. Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change—including time.

2) “TIME IS MOVING TOO FAST!”

It does seem like the world is getting faster. The days slip into weeks and weeks into months. Everything and everybody appears to be in a rush. But again it only appears that way. If time truly doesn’t exist then there is no less of it than there was yesterday. So if our perception can speed up time, then our perception can slow it down too.
Action: When the hands on the clock seem like they are spinning out of control simply reset the clock. Take a step back, out of whatever imagined pace you are currently in, and take a breath. Don’t think about everything that has to get done, or that there isn’t enough time to finish it all. Just take a breath and focus on that. If that feels good—do it again. You will feel things slowing down all around you, almost instantly.

3) “I’M TOO SLOW!”

It is easy to start blaming yourself and to allow self-criticism to effect you. After-all, everybody else seems be able to keep up with time—right? One of the most counter-productive attitudes we can adopt is to compare ourselves to what others are doing and how fast they are doing it. We should move at our own pace, without judgement.
Action: Do one thing at a time, do it well and move on—without watching the clock. You’ll not only get more done, but you will do it with less anxiety, too. Try not to concern yourself with the pace of others.

4) “I’M WASTING WHAT LITTLE TIME I HAVE.”

This is a fear shared by many people. They worry that they are wasting the “little time they have”. They worry that by the time they figure things out it will be too late. They worry that they are squandering their time, doing less productive or useful things. Guilt turns these individuals into work-alcoholics, afraid to let up even for an instant for fear that time will run out.
Action: Stay present. Fearing that time will run out is something that exists outside the present moment. The present is where we draw our power. What are you doing right now? Be present with that. Accept it. Be with that. Don’t rush it or hurry it along, or fear that it might go away. Just be that moment—that eternal moment of pure power and creative potential.

5) “I HAVE TO STAY IN THE PRESENT MOMENT TO BE HAPPY”.

While I believe it is extremely important to stay present, aware and mindful, it’s even more important not to confuse the present moment with time. As you read this post, this moment feels real. It’s not a memory, or an imagined view of the future. It’s happening right now. But, that small slice of time you just identified as the PRESENT MOMENT is already gone—slipped happily into what we call the past. So subconsciously, we set ourselves up for anxiety as we grasp for the ungraspable–a moment in time.
Action: Reconsider how you see the present moment. It can not be attached to the minutes, seconds and milliseconds of our lives. The present moment is more about a state of being. It’s about appreciation and knowing. It is about connecting to what is—whenever that is.