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Why Modern Life Feels So Busy Even If We Work Less

It's about multiplying choices, not vanishing time...

Why Modern Life Feels So Busy Even If We Work Less

Rushing in an airport

Brad Aeon

MONTREAL — Many of us feel like time management is getting tougher. But why? Is it because we now work more than ever, or maybe because life in general has sped up so much?

It’s unlikely. Overall, people work less today than they did 100 years ago. And there is no clear evidence that the pace of life has accelerated.

So if it’s not more hours or faster pace, what’s changed? The answer is that the institutions that used to regulate our time have all but vanished.


Think about it. In the 1950s, what did the average American or Canadian do on Sunday morning? They didn’t spend much time wondering whether they should watch Netflix in bed or go to brunch. The only option for many was to go to church.

And of course, Netflix didn’t exist. People had to plan when they were going to watch their favorite shows, meaning television networks provided us with the impetus to manage our time. You couldn’t just watch whatever you wanted whenever you felt like it.

The same goes for dinner: you had to be at the dinner table on time, or else there would be consequences. Today, family dinners have all but disappeared.

While you may sometimes worry about when’s the best time to do your laundry, a few decades ago the answer was clear: Monday was laundry day. That was the norm back then. And you could only do your shopping during business hours whereas today, thanks to Amazon and other online retailers, you can buy anything you want around the clock, year-round.

Free to manage our own time

You get the picture — people’s time used to be regulated by society, the government, religion, family and many other institutions.

And not just institutions, but biology as well: condoms and other contraceptives have existed for a long time, but they haven’t been widely used until recently. If you’re not sure how contraceptives affect our time management, I highly recommend you watch the MTV show 16 and Pregnant. It shows how parenthood can increase our sense of time pressure and reduce autonomy, especially for mothers; unplanned parenthood can drastically compound that feeling.

Make our schedule a reflection of our values, beliefs and philosophy

Today, we have more freedom than ever to manage our time in ways that best suit us. For that, you can thank technological advances and an unprecedented loosening of social norms. What a time to be alive!

But freedom also means responsibility: we’re now responsible for managing our own time instead of following rules set by institutions like family or religion that tell us how to spend our days. This is one reason why most people now have calendars, to-do lists and other personal time management tools. In the 1920s, personal time management tools were much rarer.

Time management was easier decades ago: people’s time was, in a very real sense, managed for them by outside forces. They didn’t have to constantly consider what they should do next, or how to prioritize their tasks. Today, these decisions rest squarely on our shoulders.

Freedom also means responsibility

Timon Studler

A great era to be alive

But don’t be discouraged. With all this freedom, you get the chance to do things your way and live your life exactly as you see fit, at least to a greater extent than your grandparents, who didn’t have the time freedom we take for granted.

So while time management may be harder, your opportunities are greater than ever. (Assuming, of course, that you’re lucky enough to live in a country with public policies that guarantee everyone quality time.)

After all, this is the ultimate goal of time management. It’s not efficiency, productivity or getting things done. It’s the ability to make our schedule a reflection of our values, beliefs and philosophy. Time management allows us to structure our lives the way we want to.

The implication is clear: while time management may be more challenging than before, it’s also more rewarding. What we lose in ease and routine, we make up for with the ability to create our lives on our own terms. And that’s a trade-off that’s worth making.The Conversation

Brad Aeon, Assistant professor and time management researcher, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War

Nuclear Card And Firing Squads: Lukashenko's Long Game To Retain Power

A few weeks after an explosion at a military field in Belarus, Vladimir Putin announced plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. There is a connection, even if Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko is walking a tight rope of domestic control and keeping Putin satisfied.

Image of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko welcoming Russian President Vladimir Putin in his arms.

Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko welcoming his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at Minsk National Airport.

Igar Ilyash

-Analysis-

Back on the afternoon of February 26, local Belarus media reported explosions at the military airfield in Machulishchy, near Minsk, and increased activity of military services. Soon after, the BYPOL association, created by former security forces to fight the regime of Alexander Lukashenko,, announced that Belarusian partisans had used drones to attack a Russian A-50U long-range radar detection aircraft.

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Neither Minsk nor Moscow acknowledged that such a valuable aircraft had been disabled. However, a few days later, the A-50U left the territory of Belarus for repairs.

The day after the explosions, Lukashenko convened a meeting of the security forces. He looked agitated, demanding "the strictest discipline" and spoke vaguely about some "internal events" and attempts to "stir up" the situation in Belarus. The Belarusian authorities publicly acknowledged the sabotage only on March 7.

That same day, Lukashenko accused the Ukrainian special services of organizing the terrorist attack in Machulishchy. "Well, the challenge has been met," he declared, before quickly clarifying that he did not intend to use the incident to draw Belarus into war. "If you think that throwing this challenge will drag us into a war that is already going on all over Europe, you are mistaken."

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