Commuting, doctors’ appointments, grocery shopping, laundry. These are just a few of the time-hungry vacuums in my life – and probably yours – that I feel I have absolutely no control over.
Meanwhile, restorative weekend strolls, sun-soaked lunches with friends, afternoons spent with a book – these are the things I love to savour, but rarely do. Time really does seem like sand slipping through my fingers, and I don’t quite know how to make it stop.
According to Cassie Holmes, a leading professor at UCLA, there are tricks to managing our time well.
“A useful exercise is to think of your time as an empty jar that you’re going to fill,” Holmes explains.
“First you put in the golf balls, which represent the most precious things – family, friends, health, passions.
“Then you add the pebbles, which are also important – your job, your home.
“And finally, you fill the rest of the jar with sand – the small stuff that fills your time, like chores and checking emails.
“What would happen if you poured in the
