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Time Hacks: The psychology of time and how to spend it
We think of time as scarce and finite. We say we 'don't have enough time', that 'time is against us', and that 'time waits for no one'. But what if we could make time feel more abundant? How can we make time work for rather than against us?
In Time Hacks, Dr Ian Taylor - a world-leading expert in the science of the human mind - draws on the latest psychological research to reveal how we can develop a healthier relationship to time; one where we can break free of the cycle of boredom and mania, be more productive, and bring balance to all parts of our lives.
In the process, he demonstrates why all difficult tasks should be done early in the morning, the detrimental effects of relying on willpower, why we should use 'be' goals to sustain motivation, and how to replace 'dead time' with activities that nourish the soul.
Fascinating and eye-opening, Time Hacks will show you how to use the power of psychology to feel less time pressured, boost your mental and physical health, and break free from the tyranny of your alarm clock.
In Time Hacks, Dr Ian Taylor - a world-leading expert in the science of the human mind - draws on the latest psychological research to reveal how we can develop a healthier relationship to time; one where we can break free of the cycle of boredom and mania, be more productive, and bring balance to all parts of our lives.
In the process, he demonstrates why all difficult tasks should be done early in the morning, the detrimental effects of relying on willpower, why we should use 'be' goals to sustain motivation, and how to replace 'dead time' with activities that nourish the soul.
Fascinating and eye-opening, Time Hacks will show you how to use the power of psychology to feel less time pressured, boost your mental and physical health, and break free from the tyranny of your alarm clock.
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Published May 1, 2025
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October 20, 2025
An entertaining and useful self-help book, hinging on how to manage your relationship with time, which is, Taylor correctly says, your most valuable resource. Taylor notes that the happiest people tend to be those who are busy but who do not feel rushed, rather than those who are by contrast slothful and feel that they are wasting their time or those who feel too busy and rushed to devote proper attention to their goals.
Taylor gets through the science of psychology as it relates to time and time management in an easy yet seemingly comprehensive manner and distils down, in the end, to 117 tips (or "hacks") some of which are flippant but most of which are serious about how to get the most from your available time. Each chapter ends with a summary and concrete steps to take, and the end of the book--very usefully--summarises these into a list of dot points.
The most useful ones, for me, I will summarise :
1. Taylor recommends living insofar as possible in a natural relationship with time. This means getting a proper amount of sleep, not relying on an alarm clock (if possible) but waking up with the sun, and living in a way that avoids being significantly out of step with nature (eg not living in Western China which due to time zone differences means the official time is way out of whack with when the sun rises and sets because official time is set to Beijing in the east). Not all of this can be put into place by everyone, but Taylor suggests some mitigating factors you can employ if, for example, you regularly need to get up whilst it is still pitch black.
2. Important tasks should be done early in the day. This is because willpower decreases over the course of the day and is unreliable. Because willpower is unreliable you should take decision making out of routine tasks as much as possible or set things up in a way that you cannot be influenced by lack of willpower (he uses the example of Odysseus being tied to the mast to hear the Sirens' song - if you can set yourself up so that you are locked in without choice, your willpower cannot fail you). Not everything can be done first thing, but important goals should be brought forward as early as possible to avoid the chance of them being interrupted by something else or by you losing your willpower when the time comes (which happens to everyone, even the most elite people).
3. You should align your goals with who you want to be rather than what you want to do, so that you have a psychological resonance between your goals and your actions. This makes it easier to sustain motivation. If you see yourself as a bookworm, you don't need to make time to read; it just happens. Similarly if you can see yourself as a highly competent professional your behaviours at work will begin to align with this self-conception. It is ok to "fake it til you make it"--in fact it is perhaps essential to do so. The way that memory can be manipulated and the way memory is integral to your sense of yourself means that self-delusion is not only possible, it is evolutionarily baked in and you should harness the incredible power of this to remake yourself in the image of what you want to be. You need to be delusion-maxxing, anon.
4. Don't worry too much about impending deadlines, motivation is highest at the beginning and end of a project and you will always sprint to the finish line and this trait is consistent across all humans of all abilities.
5. Habit forming is important; goals should be broken down into the smallest possible steps so that you can achieve completion of those steps. Inertia is a real thing and taking the first step is the hardest, so you just need to start. Think "Atomic Habits" for a book length treatment of this idea.
6. Avoid dead time--don't mindlessly waste time. It's ok to have rest and recuperation and even solitude but this needs to be used in a way that makes you feel good rather than a way that you regret because you wasted it. Some self-reflection will be necessary. You can lock yourself in Odysseus style if need be by, for example, installing software on your phone and computer that blocks social media for a period of time so if your willpower fails you, you don’t end up doomscrolling the evening away when you intended to learn a language or go for a walk.
Overall: useful; recommended.
Taylor gets through the science of psychology as it relates to time and time management in an easy yet seemingly comprehensive manner and distils down, in the end, to 117 tips (or "hacks") some of which are flippant but most of which are serious about how to get the most from your available time. Each chapter ends with a summary and concrete steps to take, and the end of the book--very usefully--summarises these into a list of dot points.
The most useful ones, for me, I will summarise :
1. Taylor recommends living insofar as possible in a natural relationship with time. This means getting a proper amount of sleep, not relying on an alarm clock (if possible) but waking up with the sun, and living in a way that avoids being significantly out of step with nature (eg not living in Western China which due to time zone differences means the official time is way out of whack with when the sun rises and sets because official time is set to Beijing in the east). Not all of this can be put into place by everyone, but Taylor suggests some mitigating factors you can employ if, for example, you regularly need to get up whilst it is still pitch black.
2. Important tasks should be done early in the day. This is because willpower decreases over the course of the day and is unreliable. Because willpower is unreliable you should take decision making out of routine tasks as much as possible or set things up in a way that you cannot be influenced by lack of willpower (he uses the example of Odysseus being tied to the mast to hear the Sirens' song - if you can set yourself up so that you are locked in without choice, your willpower cannot fail you). Not everything can be done first thing, but important goals should be brought forward as early as possible to avoid the chance of them being interrupted by something else or by you losing your willpower when the time comes (which happens to everyone, even the most elite people).
3. You should align your goals with who you want to be rather than what you want to do, so that you have a psychological resonance between your goals and your actions. This makes it easier to sustain motivation. If you see yourself as a bookworm, you don't need to make time to read; it just happens. Similarly if you can see yourself as a highly competent professional your behaviours at work will begin to align with this self-conception. It is ok to "fake it til you make it"--in fact it is perhaps essential to do so. The way that memory can be manipulated and the way memory is integral to your sense of yourself means that self-delusion is not only possible, it is evolutionarily baked in and you should harness the incredible power of this to remake yourself in the image of what you want to be. You need to be delusion-maxxing, anon.
4. Don't worry too much about impending deadlines, motivation is highest at the beginning and end of a project and you will always sprint to the finish line and this trait is consistent across all humans of all abilities.
5. Habit forming is important; goals should be broken down into the smallest possible steps so that you can achieve completion of those steps. Inertia is a real thing and taking the first step is the hardest, so you just need to start. Think "Atomic Habits" for a book length treatment of this idea.
6. Avoid dead time--don't mindlessly waste time. It's ok to have rest and recuperation and even solitude but this needs to be used in a way that makes you feel good rather than a way that you regret because you wasted it. Some self-reflection will be necessary. You can lock yourself in Odysseus style if need be by, for example, installing software on your phone and computer that blocks social media for a period of time so if your willpower fails you, you don’t end up doomscrolling the evening away when you intended to learn a language or go for a walk.
Overall: useful; recommended.
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