Good Life Project

Time Anxiety: Beating the Dread That You’ll Never Get Ahead | Chris Guillebeau

July 30, 2026·48 min
Episode Description from the Publisher

You know that feeling, like you’re forever running behind in work and life? That you’ll never finally be “there,” or be able to relax and enjoy things. Like the days are just collapsing into each other? Welcome to the wacky world of time anxiety. You are not alone. Chris Guillebeau has spent fifteen years writing about the questions that keep smart, capable people stuck. He is back on the show to talk about his new book, Time Anxiety, the clearest thing he has written yet on why "get up an hour earlier" backfires and what actually helps.In this conversation, you'll explore:Why your brain is chronically wrong about how much time anything takes, and the fifteen-minute fix for chronic latenessThe eighth day exercise, a way to find out what you actually want to do with your time by imagining a day with zero obligation to anyone elseThe traffic light method for working with your real energy instead of fighting itWhy swapping the word "productive" for "valuable" changes how a day feelsThe shame so many caretakers feel about carving out time for themselves, and the answer Gretchen Rubin gave Chris that changed how he thinks about itIf you've ever felt like your calendar is lying to you about how much time you have, this is the conversation for it.You can find Chris at: Website | A Year of Mental Health Substack | Instagram | Episode TranscriptNext week, we're sitting down with Dr. Fred Cohen to talk about why almost everything you've been told about migraines is outdated, and what the science actually says about treating them. Be sure to follow Good Life Project wherever you get your podcasts so you don’t miss any upcoming episodes!Check out our sponsors and resources: Visit Our Sponsor Page Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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