The Time Warp: Why You Never Have Enough Hours

Feel like time is slipping through your fingers? You're not alone.

Your phone buzzes. Another notification. Another email. Another meeting request. Sound familiar?

We're all caught in a bizarre paradox. Statistics tell us we have more leisure time than ever before in human history. Yet somehow, we're all drowning in a perpetual time deficit. Every day feels like a race against the clock, and we're always losing.

What gives?

I've been diving deep into some fascinating research by Boróka Bó and Kamila Kolpashnikova that exposes the uncomfortable truth about our relationship with time. It turns out we're not just imagining this crushing sense of time poverty. It's real, it's systemic, and it's by design.

Here's the kicker: The very tools and technologies promised to save us time are actually consuming more of it. Think about that fancy new productivity app you downloaded last week. How many hours did you spend setting it up, learning its features, troubleshooting its bugs? How much time do you spend managing the tool that's supposed to be managing your time?

It's a perfect metaphor for our entire relationship with time in late-stage capitalism.

We're caught in what the researchers call a "cycle of rushing and consumption." We work longer hours to afford time-saving devices and services, only to find ourselves with less time to enjoy them. Then we buy more stuff to try to solve the problem, and the cycle continues.

But here's what nobody wants to talk about: This isn't just about personal choices or poor time management skills.

The brutal truth is that time itself has become a commodity, and like all commodities in our system, it's distributed unequally. Your ability to control your time isn't just about your personal habits or your productivity system. It's deeply tied to your socioeconomic status, your gender, your race, and where you live.

Think about it. A single parent working two jobs doesn't have the luxury of "time-blocking" their day or practicing "mindful productivity." A worker with a two-hour commute can't just "wake up earlier" to squeeze in a morning routine. Someone living in a food desert can't "meal prep" their way out of time poverty.

The self-help industrial complex wants you to believe that if you're feeling overwhelmed, it's your fault. You're just not optimizing enough. You need another productivity course, another planning system, another morning routine.

It's gaslighting, pure and simple.

But here's what's really interesting: The research suggests that our experience of time isn't just individual—it's social. We share time with our network of relationships, and those relationships shape how much control we have over our hours.

This is why saying "no" isn't always as simple as the productivity gurus make it sound. Our time is entangled with others' needs, expectations, and demands. The mom who's always volunteering at school events isn't just failing to set boundaries—she's responding to a system that relies on unpaid labor to function.

So what's the solution? Are we all just doomed to feel like we're constantly running behind?

Not necessarily. But the answer isn't another productivity hack or time management system.

The researchers suggest something radically simple: Start asking "why?"

Before you commit to anything—whether it's a work project, a social obligation, or even your morning scroll through social media—pause and ask yourself: Why am I doing this?

This isn't about analyzing every minute of your day until you're paralyzed with indecision. It's about developing awareness of the forces driving your choices. Are you saying yes out of genuine desire or automated obligation? Are you rushing because something is truly urgent, or because you've internalized the constant urgency of our always-on culture?

The goal isn't to control every minute of your life—that's impossible and probably undesirable. The goal is to reclaim agency over the time you do have, to make choices that align with your actual values rather than external pressures.

But let's be real: Individual solutions can only take us so far. We need to recognize that time poverty is a systemic issue that requires systemic solutions. We need workplace policies that respect boundaries between work and life. We need urban planning that doesn't force people into soul-crushing commutes. We need social support systems that don't rely on the donated time of (mostly women's) unpaid labor.

Until then, we can start small. We can question the narrative that being busy equals being important. We can resist the pressure to optimize every moment. We can choose to spend our time on activities and with people who genuinely nourish us, rather than drain us.

As one research participant beautifully put it: "Time lets me become." Maybe that's the key—seeing time not as something to control or optimize, but as the space in which we grow, connect, and evolve.

The next time you feel time slipping away, pause. Ask why. And remember: Your worth isn't measured by your productivity, and your life isn't a resource to be optimized.

Time to break free from the trap.

What do you think? How do you experience time in your life? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Reference: Time Control, Why We Feel Time Slipping Away