It was seven in the morning. Her coffee cup was still half full when Neda opened her laptop in a rush. Her Google calendar was packed — morning meeting, report deadline, buying a birthday gift, calling her mom… The day had just begun, but her mind had already been awake since last night with that familiar anxiety: *not enough time.* By nightfall, she found herself running again — endlessly, between “must-dos” and “I don’t have time.” Interestingly, time hasn’t changed; it’s still 24 hours a day. So why does it feel so much shorter?
Perfectionism: The Thief of Calm Hours
Honestly, one of our biggest mental traps is perfectionism [2]. That constant voice saying, “I could have done it better.” When your mind keeps revising and polishing endlessly, not only do you lose time, but also satisfaction. Instead of moving forward, you get stuck in a loop of rethinking and fixing; and suddenly, even a full day feels too short to be “enough.”
Living in a Frame of Comparison
Social media has made everyone else’s life look just a little shinier than ours [3]. From career success to vacations and healthy eating, the comparisons never end. These endless contrasts amplify our sense of being behind. We stop planning around what *we* want and start scheduling life based on *others’* standards. The result? That familiar feeling again — we’re short on time because we haven’t spent it living our own life.
Fear of Falling Behind: Always-On Anxiety
Another widespread reason for this feeling is the fear of being left behind. It’s as if we’re in a global competition where every moment counts [3]. You can see it in daily behavior: even rest moments come with guilt. We try to seize every opportunity, but in that endless chase, we miss the essence of being in the moment.
Is Time Really Short or Just Misunderstood?
Research shows there’s no direct connection between feeling short on time and the actual amount of work done [4]. Some people with busier schedules feel calmer because they *perceive* control over their time. In contrast, those who feel time dominates them experience stress even on easy days. The secret lies here: the issue isn’t how *much* time we have, but how we *relate* to it.
Resetting Our Relationship with Time: Start with Priorities
To exit this cycle, we first need to know *what truly matters to us*. That’s where the “prioritization matrix” becomes powerful [1]. By organizing tasks based on importance and urgency, our mind gains structure — and calm follows. When we dedicate time to what matters most, even hectic days feel bearable. Maybe time was never less; our perception of it just needs recalibration.
References
[1] Studies on psychology of time perception
[2] Stanford University research on perfectionism and job satisfaction
[3] Pew Institute social studies on online comparison
[4] Psychological Science review on subjective time and productivity
