A day in the life : Day 443

This week, I ran into a small planning issue that kept slowing me down. I kept starting tasks without really knowing how long they’d take, which made the day feel rushed even when it wasn’t. Around the same time, I noticed a trend picking up again — people estimating tasks before starting them, even roughly, to avoid that constant feeling of being behind.

I decided to try it in a simple way. Before beginning anything, I wrote down how long I thought it would take. Just a guess — 20 minutes, an hour, two hours. The first surprise was how often I was wrong. Some things took half the time I expected, others double. That mismatch was probably why my days felt off.

One afternoon, I overestimated a task and left too much empty space, thinking I’d be busy. When I finished early, I felt oddly restless instead of relieved. That told me how used I’d become to being rushed. I filled the extra time with something useful instead of scrolling, and the day ended calmer than usual.

The weather’s been warmer lately, which tends to drain energy faster. I’ve switched to lighter lunches and more water to keep from crashing in the afternoon. That made it easier to stick to the time estimates without feeling worn out.

By the end of the week, I wasn’t suddenly a perfect planner. But I had fewer moments of “how is it already evening?” I had a better sense of where time was actually going.

This trend isn’t about strict schedules. It’s about awareness. When you know roughly how long things take, you stop packing your day with impossible expectations. That alone removes a lot of quiet stress you don’t even realize you’re carrying.