Time confetti, if left unchecked can eat up all your free time Imagine this: Work ends at 6pm and before going to the gym at 7pm, you have an hour free time to relax. You decide to lie down on the couch and ‘relax’. Then you scroll through your mail one last time to check for new messages – there are three, you reply to one, then check Twitter/Instagram before replying to the pending messages. Next thing you know, it’s 6:45 a.m.! You quickly gather your gym bag and head out, but end up arriving at the gym as exhausted as you were at the end of work. And that, friends, is where confetti comes into the picture – those tiny chunks of time wasted doing meaningless, mindless things. – Multitask effectively. In the era of WFH, the concept of time confetti comes to the fore as we constantly find ourselves short on time, trying to do as much housework as possible in our small pockets of leisure time. In the process, we end up losing the amount of free time we have allotted to ourselves, leaving ourselves feeling exhausted or exhausted. What is temporal confetti? The term was coined by American author Brigid Schulte in her book Overwhelmed: Work, Love, and Play When Nobody Has Time. Brigid uses this term to describe the small pockets of free time she has during the day. It refers to our tendency to cram as many tasks as possible into these small pockets of free time. While it may seem like we are getting more work done in limited time, it actually adds to stress levels, which leads a person to burnout. How does it affect us? Despite checking off the things to do on our checklist, most of us feel like we don’t have enough time to sleep, engage in recreational activities, or see friends. Blame the punctual confetti. “The notion of not having any free time makes confetti a waste of time, taking away our moments of relaxation. We let it consume our free time, mixing work time with personal time and adding to our stress,” shares Delhi-based life coach Pragya Agarwal. Mental health experts say it’s also a consequence of the hustle culture prevalent in today’s work life. “With WFH changing work hours and the pressure to hustle, we force ourselves to be endlessly busy. The hustle culture is almost toxic when it starts affecting our mental health in such a way, says psychologist Vaibhav Sawle. How to collect confetti time- Track time spent on most used apps: Most smartphones are equipped with on-screen time recording feature. Having insight into the hours you spend on social apps and setting boundaries for it will help you scroll mindlessly and reduce eye strain – Draw the list with realistic expectations: When making your to-do list, be easy on yourself and set realistic deadlines. Share work with your partner/roommate to have more time for yourself. Delegate work professionally if there is too much to do – Normalize prioritizing leisure time: Since you don’t take on personal work during work hours, don’t bring work into your personal time. When work hours are over, normalize not checking email constantly – Deliberately disengage: Remember to consciously go for a walk and not read stories or messages. During gym sessions, don’t try to walk on the treadmill while talking to colleagues or checking emails – Set a deadline for your busyness: If you can’t help but check emails and messages even after hours work; Set a deadline for yourself to stop doing it. Set an alarm to signal leisure time – this should be reserved for relaxation only
