Time Bending and Other Ways to Trick Time: How to Get More Out of Your Day

"I don’t have time." How often do we hear that? How often do we say that? 🤯

When did being time-poor become a badge of honour? We’re busy, overworked, and we're told that the only way to get ahead is to learn time-management skills, sleep less, and cram more into our schedules.

But what if the secret to productivity wasn’t about doing more?

What if instead we could experience time differently?

This article isn’t about efficiency hacks or knocking out more tasks in less time. Those ideas have been inspired by a genuine conversation with Aleyx Ward, and I'd love to help you redefine how you interact with time so that you feel more joy, fulfilment, and satisfaction in your day.

Not all of this will resonate with you, so take what feels valuable to you.

Creating Tiny Days: Resetting Your Focus and Energy

One way to get more out of your day is by dividing it into distinct parts. Instead of seeing your day as one long stretch of work, you split it into multiple segments, each with its own priority (singular!), and reset point. It ensures you stay focused and free from distractions.

This idea is inspired by Ed Mylett's "Mini Days" concept (thanks to Aleyx Ward for sharing!), with my wellness flavour.

For example, this is how I use this method:

☀️ Morning:Physical exercise and meditation on your intention for the first part of the day. Focus on deep work, strategic thinking, or high-priority tasks.

☕ Midday:Reset with healthy food, an energy-boosting meditation or movement, and a new intention for creativity or collaboration.

✨ After Work: Turn laptop off, phone on do-not-disturb, brisk walk or put music on, setting a fresh intention to leave work at work and step into personal time.

🌙 Evening:Time to reflect, wrap up the day, turn tech off, and intentionally shift into rest and sleep mode.

This method works because it allows you to mentally and physically refresh yourself and reset multiple times throughout the day.

Instead of pushing through exhaustion, start to re-engage with fresh energy and a clear focus.

Time Bending: The Mindset Shift That Changes Everything

Einstein famously said, "Time is relative." And while he was talking about physics, this applies to our perception of time, too. Have you ever noticed that time flies when you're doing something you love but drags when you’re stuck in a boring meeting? That’s time perception at play.

Reagan Hillier, a well-known mindset and law of attraction coach, talks about time bending and how to expand time by being fully present and engaged. This is often called "being in flow".

I’ve personally seen time bending in action with my friend Suzanne Rath, who constantly seems to defy time. From an outside perspective, it looks like she’s in ten places at once. The secret? Everything she does is aligned with her high-energy activities.

You can bend time, too, by focusing on:

⏳ Energy over hours – Instead of managing your time, manage your energy.

🎯 Being fully present – Stop multitasking. Give full attention to what you do.

🛑 Letting go of time scarcity – Practice saying "How can I create time for what matters?"

We always find time for what we believe to be a priority. The question is: Are we prioritising the right things?

The Energy Inventory: How to Audit Your Time for More Ease

A powerful way to understand your relationship with time is to track where your energy is going.

For seven days, note:

✅ What gives you energy

❌ What drains your energy

At the end of the week, identify at least one thing to eliminate that consistently drains your energy. If it’s unavoidable, find ways to reduce its impact. For example, if meetings drain you, could you attend less of them, or influence a healthier meeting etiquette?

Hidden Time Leaks: The "I'm Too Busy" Paradox

Many people say they are "too busy"—but how much time is lost to mindless activities due to stress or exhaustion? If you’ve ever scrolled on your phone or watched TV to "unwind" but then felt just as drained afterward, you’ve experienced a hidden time leak.

The irony? The more overwhelmed you feel, the more likely you are to procrastinate or default to low-energy activities. It’s a cycle:

1️⃣ You have too much to do.

2️⃣ You feel exhausted.

3️⃣ You default to passive activities when you have a window of free time.

4️⃣ You feel like you never have enough time.

Breaking this cycle starts with awareness. If you feel exhausted, choose an activity that genuinely restores energy instead of mindless scrolling.

💡Go for a walk, meditate, stretch, call a friend, create something, or take deep breaths.

The Eisenhower Matrix: Prioritising What Truly Matters

One of the best tools for reclaiming time is the Eisenhower Matrix - a method used to separate urgent tasks from important ones. Thanks to my coach Chenae Carey , I use it every. single. day.

And it is life-changing

🟢 Urgent & Important: Do it immediately (e.g., deadlines, emergencies).

🔵 Important but Not Urgent: Schedule it (e.g., strategy, personal growth).

🟠 Urgent but Not Important: Delegate it (e.g., emails, meetings).

🔴 Neither Urgent nor Important: Eliminate it (e.g., excessive social media, busywork).

Most people spend too much time in the urgent but not important quadrant (reacting to emails, last-minute requests) or the neither urgent nor importantquadrant (mindless distractions). The real magic happens when you spend more time in the important but not urgent quadrant—this is where long-term success and fulfilment live. There should only be ONE urgent and important item at one time, not more.

If you don’t currently use the Eisenhower Matrix, start now. It’s one of the simplest yet most effective productivity tools that exist. And if you’d like a template to guide you, I have one, just ask.

So... Can You Trick Time?

The answer is yes, but as you may be starting to understand now, you need a different relationship with time.

By using tiny days, shifting your mindset, exploring time bending, tracking your energy, eliminating time leaks, and using the Eisenhower Matrix, you’ll stop feeling like time is slipping away and start feeling more in control of your days.

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