Past, present, future: How to heal your relationship with time

Most of us have felt out of control these past two years, particularly with our time. Somehow, the days seemed to both slow down and speed up at the same time.

If you don’t have a morning, bedtime, or fitness routine yet, that’s OK. I have many incredibly successful clients who were embarrassed about that, telling me they have often tried and failed.

A few years ago, British television presenter Piers Morgan dismissed Lady Gaga’s Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). He said that only if you’ve been to war, that you’re allowed to use that term. As a psychologist, I affirmatively call bullshit on that.

A few weeks ago, we launched into a soft lockdown. Despite our border control measures, policing the wearing of masks, and a vaccination program, community cases increased again. Ironically, in the wake of being complimented by global bodies for our COVID-19 resilience.

This May, burnout was officially recognised by the World Health Organisation. Whilst my colleagues and I thought “It’s about time!”, it was a step in affirming that you’re neither weak nor alone if you’ve burnt out or are teetering on the brink.

Precrastination is the act of charging forward with the quickest action. Sounds good in theory, except that this fervor is often tinged with impulsivity and can actually end up taking more effort.