Good News: You’re Not As Busy As You Think

It's one thing to be busy, and it's another thing to feel busy but somehow find time to catch up on the entire last season of Mad Men. However, according to this new DNews video, there are actual scientific reasons for those slacker tendencies — and ways to get past them. Our own time perception (and how vulnerable it is to anxiety) is partly to blame, the video explains. In one study, participants reported feeling busier when they had more time-demanding goals, which isn't surprising. But, they also reported feeling busier when their goals were in competition for money or emotional energy. So, even if we're not actually more pressed for time, we can start to feel that way if we're anxious for other reasons. What can we do about it? Well, in the immediate moment, we can try some relaxing meditation tricks. And, in the long-term, we can find productive ways to deal with that anxiety, such as reframing it into a source of motivation or fueling it into prioritization and problem-solving. But, if you find procrastination becoming a habit, try simply forgiving yourself first.