003 | make time for what matters

001 | A THOUGHT

Full vulnerability moment—do you also feel personally attacked by how fast time is moving now? I’ve been talking with a few friends in their 30s, and we all feel it. The weeks fly by, the months blur together, and suddenly, we’re wondering where the time went. At the same time, I still feel like I’m in my 20s (although my knees beg to differ)!

On a big-picture level, I feel this sense of urgency, like I need to do more, and check things off faster… racing against (arbitrary) deadlines I set for myself. I keep telling myself, I need more time.

On a daily level, you know that feeling when you swear you just sat down, and suddenly two hours have disappeared? Lately, I’ve been feeling so short on time.

As I get older, how I spend my time feels more important than ever. In my head, I say I want to focus on “me” things—reading more, learning a language, growing Best Days Club, and spending time with people I care about. But somehow, time keeps slipping away, and I’m not doing those things as much as I’d hoped. It has just felt like I don’t have enough hours in the day.

Whenever I start feeling this way, I know it’s time to step back and actually look at where my time is going. So, I decided to do a time audit. Because I know how easy it is for me to go on autopilot, feeling frantic about not having enough time while also mindlessly filling my days.

And when I tracked my time, I got clarity. I saw what I was actually doing, where my time was going, and most importantly, how I could make shifts to align with what I say I want to do.

My time audit made me realize I’d fallen back into spending my time in ways I hadn’t intentionally chosen. And it wasn’t just social media (though this has been a big chunk lately), it was all the small, automatic ways I filled my time without really recognizing it while I was doing it.

So if you’ve been feeling like time is slipping away and you wish you had “more” of it—whether for a goal, a creative project, or simply to rest—this one’s for you. We can’t slow time down (although I really wish this was a superpower I had), but we can be more intentional with the time we do have.

002 | A TIP

So, how do you actually know if you’re using your time in a way that feels good to you? You track it. Not forever, but for a week or so to see how you’re spending your time.

Here’s how to do a simple time audit:

1. Track it. Write down how you spend your time for 3–7 days—no judgment, just observe.

2. Categorize it. Work, rest, movement, personal time, social media, etc.

3. Look for patterns. What’s taking up more time than you expected? What’s missing that you actually want to do?

4. Make adjustments. How do you really want to spend your time? Where can you reduce? Where can you adjust?

For me, I noticed:

• I’ve fell back into a habit of spending way more time than I realized scrolling socials (which is part of why I wanted to reduce my screen time), watching TV (Traitors, Severance, Singles Inferno?! You name it, I’m watching it), and playing Hello Kitty Island Adventure… (I also noticed that I pretty much look at screens ALL day—for both work & fun)

• I haven’t been spending enough time on things that actually recharge me for the long haul, like reading or hands-on hobbies.

• I keep saying I don’t have time to do this or that, but when I actually look at my time audit… I can have time if I cut out some stuff or just adjust. Like, do I actually need to sit and watch ALL of Love is Blind as it comes out?

My biggest takeaway after doing my time audit:
I go through phases of being super intentional with my time, but when I get stressed, I slip back into old patterns. And ironically, that doesn’t help with the stress—it makes it worse.

After I saw exactly how I was spending my time, I started making small changes. And let me tell you, it’s been feeling so good again!

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003 | A PROMPT

If you want to start digging more into your time, here are a couple of prompts to get you thinking.

004 | A REC

Do a time audit: If you’ve never done one before or want to do it again, this is your sign to give it a go. Just a few days of tracking will give you so much insight into where your time is going and how to shift it toward what matters to you.

Want a step-by-step guide? I got you! I wrote a whole post on how to do a time audit, including an example! Check it out here. (Yes, we are back in our blogging/long-form era.)

Best free time-tracking app: Now Then is my go-to, but you can also use a spreadsheet, Doc, or a notebook!