If you’ve ever tried to outrun your own calendar, you know the brutal truth: time always wins.
In the latest episode of Daily Creative, I interviewed Chris Guillebeau to explore the slippery, often maddening feeling that there’s never enough time for creative work—the “time anxiety” that lives everywhere from our daily to-do lists to our deepest existential worries.
If you’re tired of squeezing more out of less while feeling perpetually behind, below are some key insights to help you re-align with your priorities.
1. More Efficiency Won’t Rescue You from Time Anxiety
Modern life glorifies efficiency—new apps, better systems, and tighter routines. I used to believe that if I just got better at organizing my calendar, the feeling of falling behind would disappear. But it turns out you can optimize yourself into greater stress, churning more and more without ever feeling ahead or accomplished.
Pure efficiency can be a trap that keeps you working on the wrong things, robbing you of energy for what matters most.
What’s one system or habit you rely on that might actually be keeping you stuck in “busy” mode instead of moving you forward?
2. The Real Problem Is Misalignment, Not Lack of Productivity
The real breakthrough isn’t finding more hours in a day, it’s making sure your hours are spent on what matters. “Time alignment” means regularly checking whether your days reflect your actual values, not just your obligations or expectations. This takes clearer boundaries and tough choices—like saying no to shiny opportunities or “phantom” deadlines that aren’t even your own.
When your schedule mirrors your deepest priorities, accomplishment feels more meaningful and anxiety starts to recede.
If someone looked at your week, would they see your real values reflected in how you spend your time?
3. Time Anxiety Sneaks into Every Corner: Past, Present, & Future
Unlike FOMO, which is about right now, time anxiety haunts our memories of the past, our decisions in the present, and the possibilities for our future. It can show up as regret over missed chances, the endless stress of choosing what’s “next,” or existential discomfort with life’s finality.
The more honest you are about these layers, the more effectively you can change the pattern instead of just reacting to it.
Which part do you wrestle with most: ruminating on the past, stressing over the present, or worrying about the future?
4. Urgency is Not Importance: Beware the False Busyness Trap
We live in a world (and work in industries) where everything is pitched as urgent and immediate. But creative work especially asks us to make space for the important—not just the loudest or most time-sensitive. Most things that truly matter rarely announce themselves as urgent, and no one else will protect your creative time for you.
Building constraints, smaller to-do lists, and moments of pause are subtle ways to start correcting the balance.
What’s one “non-urgent” thing you keep putting off that deserves your best energy this week?
5. Attention, Not Time, Is Your Scarcest Resource
We obsess over time, but what really determines our impact is where we direct our attention. Your best work—creative, meaningful, life-giving—needs focus, not just clock time. Focusing your attention requires tuning into tensions, confronting unresolved stresses, and being honest about when you’re avoiding the hard stuff.
Progress lives in those small, intentional shifts that build momentum over weeks and months.
Where is your attention going by default today—and what small shift would reclaim it for something that truly matters?
Ultimately, the fastest way to unravel time anxiety isn’t to move faster—it’s to get braver about choosing what matters, day by day. This week, try asking Chris’s deceptively simple question at the end of each day: “Did today matter?” If not, don’t guilt yourself—use it as a guide for tomorrow.
When your calendar starts reflecting your values, not just your obligations, those small aligned choices compound into a life and a body of work that you’re proud of. Give yourself permission to slow down and align—a little more, each day—starting now.
