A powerful antidote to deadline dread time guilt and chronic rushing—from the New York Times
bestselling author of The $100 Startup In a world obsessed with squeezing the most out of
every moment the fear of falling behind can trap us in a paralyzing stress cycle. Incomplete
to-do lists unanswered emails and unmet life goals haunt our thoughts leaving us
overstimulated and exhausted. In Time Anxiety Chris Guillebeau author of the popular
newsletter A Year of Mental Health reveals that this pervasive sense of time scarcity stems
not from a lack of hours in the day but from unrealistic expectations and misaligned
priorities. Weaving together eye-opening research on time perception executive functioning
challenges and the psychological roots of avoidance he offers a bold path for redefining our
relationship with the clock. The first step is to build a tolerance for incomplete to-do
lists and the inevitability of disappointing people abandoning the goal of "catching up.” We
have to set our own limits because no one else will. From there Guillebeau guides readers
through a process of: Identifying cognitive distortions that make routine tasks feel
high-stakes regulating the nervous system through grounding techniques and breathwork and
embracing the goal of “good enough” Uncovering the unwritten "time rules" that govern our days
(“ I return phone calls within an hour” or “I reply to every email the same day without
exception” ) and creating new rules that better serve us Weighing the tradeoffs between
competing values and priorities so we can invest our finite energy wisely operating out of an
empowered rather than a fear-based state Ultimately Time Anxiety is a call to wake up from
the trance of busyness and reclaim our most precious resource. By breaking the habits of
overstressing overdoing and underliving we can start savoring our limited time on earth.
