Pete Alexander2x TEDx Speaker and best-selling author helping transform burned out workers into engaged colleagues.

Stress Relief Tool - Track Your Time

1 Jul 2020 · 2 min

Watch on YouTube

1:43

In this short advisory video, the speaker highlights a common habit of overestimating how little time one has during the week, which fuels stress and mistakes. To counteract this, they recommend objectively tracking all activities for a week using a notebook or spreadsheet, without trying to change behavior at first; the act of monitoring naturally leads to positive adjustments. They also advise limiting brief work‑related tasks—such as checking the phone or sending quick emails—during non‑work periods, as these small interruptions can feel like they consume more time than they actually do. By gaining a clear, data‑driven picture of how time is truly spent, viewers can correct emotional misperceptions, reduce unnecessary stress, and make more informed decisions about managing their workload.

Chapters

A common habit many people have is thinking they have less time during the week than they actually have. This leads to unnecessary stress because we feel like we have to be in a hurry, which makes us more likely to make mistakes, further compounding our anxiety. A good way to get a handle on the actual time you have is to objectively track it for a week and keep a notebook or spreadsheet of where you are spending your time. Track your time without actively attempting to change your behavior. Your behavior will naturally shift in positive directions due to monitoring, so there's no need to force it, at least initially. Limit brief work-related activities during non-work time, like checking your phone or firing off a quick email. These activities may only take a few minutes, but this pattern can feel like it consumes more time than it actually does, so try to curb these behaviors. Ultimately, you want to see how much time you really are spending, not what your mind thinks you're spending when you're stressed about time. The insight that you gain from this activity will help you objectively see whether your brain jumped to conclusions based on your emotions about feeling overworked versus what actually might be true. And with this clarity about your time, you can help yourself fend off unnecessary stress in the future.