THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE

Do you ever feel like there just aren't enough hours in the day? Or that your life is speeding by, and you're not living it to the full? Here's how to make the days count: with moments of awe, personal traditions and a well-crafted schedule.

- LIESL ROBERTSON

What does a typical weekday look like for you? Let me guess: You get up in the morning, rush around getting ready, pack the kids off to school and commute to work. Here, you put in at least eight hours answering emails, sitting in meetings and trying to hack away at a never-ending to-do list. Then you commute back home, maybe running errands on the way. Once you’re home, it’s a race to get dinner on the table, handle the household chores, help with homework, spend time with the family and, before you know it, you have maybe an hour or so, usually spent in front of the TV, before you get into bed to do it all over again the next day.

If you’re lucky, there’s a slot in there somewhere for reading the kids a bedtime story, having coffee with a friend or going to the gym. And, let’s face it, the moment you’re pressed for time, these activities are the first to be axed – the things you want to do rather than the things you have to do. The things that are ultimately good for your health, that build relationships and that make you happy.

And that, says Professor Cassie Holmes, is the big problem with living in a culture that keeps us feeling time-poor. ‘Without enough time, we fail to care for our bodies… We don’t take time for ourselves – to rest, to read, to think, to create. We neglect our interests and what makes us interesting. We stop cultivating important relationships, let alone invest in making new ones.’

Her new book, Happier Hour: How to Spend Your Time for a Happier, More Meaningful Life, looks at how to tackle this issue head-on.