Time Anxiety is The Fear That Time is Running Out.
Registration is now closed. Join the list below to receive five complimentary lessons and get on the wait list for our next cohort.
A 5-Week Course Taught by Chris Guillebeau, the New York Times bestselling author
"What should I do right now?"
... is the most pressing question of our lives. Whether it's managing your to-do list or deciding on a big career change, you could do almost anything—and that's a problem.
The rise of self-directed work has made this condition even more difficult. You feel overwhelmed by choice and filled with the constant worry that you're doing the wrong things.
This problem has a name. If you've ever felt apprehensive about wasting time, whether in your daily routine or life in general, you've experienced time anxiety. Some people experience it constantly.
Thankfully, there’s a much better way—it’s just not found in most productivity methods, time management seminars, or influencer posts.
“Time Management” Is a Trap
The constant stimulation of the modern world doesn't make it easy, but time anxiety is far from new. Yet most "productivity" methods overlook the main reasons why you feel stressed, stuck, or overwhelmed.
Trying to stack more and more parts of life into a perfectly ordered daily routine is a recipe for disaster. Inevitably, you’re just going to get off track, and then you’ll feel worse.
For some people, these methods do more harm than good.
If you struggle with focus, you don’t need to “push through,” you need to step back.
You don't need another lesson about Inbox Zero, you need to know how to focus on the small number of things you can control. You need to understand why you feel overwhelmed and hesitant in the first place.
Above all, you need to align your day-to-day decisions with lifelong goals and values. The brand-new Time Anxiety online experience can help you do exactly that.
Registration for the course is now closed.
Join the list below to receive five complimentary lessons and get on the wait list for our next cohort.
Time Anxiety: A 5-Week Experiential Course
Life consists of a series of decision points. We tend to think of “big choices” as the ones that define who we are, but in fact we’re opening and closing off paths all the time. We’re also experiencing “FOMO” about the roads not taken—all those choices we turn down by saying yes to something else.
How can you live the most meaningful life? Of all the things you could do, how do you know what to do next?
A small group of extraordinary people will explore and implement the answers to these questions. Our next cohort will go through the experience together, with a series of live lectures and interactive assignments
It's not a productivity course, it's a new approach to living intentionally.
The curriculum is designed to teach you why you struggle with this common problem, and what you can do about it. All material will be taught by Chris Guillebeau, and you’ll have access to a supportive community.
Instead of loading you up with tricks and hacks, this course will teach you a different way of living intentionally. The goal is to help you do more of what matters the most to you.
Stop beating yourself up over time you feel was wasted. Stop wondering how you'll ever find time to do what you really want. Transform your frustration into motivation.
After completing the course, you'll understand what's been holding you back—and how you can move forward with purpose.
Overcome the fear of running out of time
Registration for the course is now closed.
Join the list below to receive five complimentary lessons and get on the wait list for our next cohort.
How Would It Feel to Not Be Anxious?
Your answer might be different (we’ll discuss it during the course), but it could look something like this:
You feel in control of your emotions and day-to-day decisions.
A good portion of the time you spend each day connects to your life’s overall purpose.
You know what your values and priorities are, and you work to align your actions with them.
You still get stuck sometimes—nobody's perfect—but you know how to recover when it happens.
Instead of feeling stressed out and overwhelmed, you feel purposeful and at peace.
Registration for the course is now closed.
Join the list below to receive five complimentary lessons and get on the wait list for our next cohort.
About Your Instructor
Chris Guillebeau is the New York Times bestselling author of The $100 Startup, Side Hustle, The Happiness of Pursuit, and other books. During a lifetime of self-employment that included a four-year commitment as a volunteer executive in West Africa, he visited every country in the world (193 in total) before his 35th birthday.
Everything in the official bio is true, but it doesn't tell you the whole story. The rest of the story is that I made this course for myself as much as you. The more I learned about myself, the better able I was to make progress—even during times when I felt anxious. If you’d like to hear more, keep scrolling to read a 3,000 word letter I wrote for you at the bottom of this page.
Transform Your Experience With Time
Chances are, you've been approaching the problem of Time Anxiety from the wrong perspective. You can't just "get things done"—you need to let go of things that will always be undone.
- The neurochemistry of time anxiety
- How do you decide?
- The eighth day of the week
Practice noticing how your current patterns and habits align or misalign with your desired outcomes. Learn to combine the best parts of intuition ("the felt sense") with a more analytical approach to make decisions.
- Exploring the felt sense
- The productivity placebo
- Rest as an act of resistance
Part of why you feel overwhelmed is because there's so much you could do. Learn to capture ideas and store important information for future retrieval, without getting distracted or falling into FOMO mode.
- Creating evergreen notes for your future self
- Time tracking with two core metrics
- Active observation
Complete a personalized reflection sheet that guides you in making plans and decisions. This tool will help you preemptively make choices that set you up for success.
- Develop a Guided Operating System (GOS)
- Hedonic adaptation
- Rules of engagement
Forge a connection between your daily actions and longterm goals. Practice how you'll respond to setbacks, so you can prevent them from leaving you feeling stuck and overwhelmed.
- Avoiding the negative feedback loop
- Recovering from setbacks
- The Annual Review
For five weeks, we'll meet once a week for 90 minutes. During live lessons, you'll have the opportunity to contribute, ask questions, get feedback, or simply observe if you prefer.
Participation in the live sessions is highly recommended but not required. All sessions will be recorded for your private review (they won't be shared publicly).
You'll also have some simple homework to work on in between sessions. This homework and the activities we complete together will be the basis for the system you create.
At the end of our time together, you'll go away with a Personalized Roadmap. You'll continue to have access to all the materials for life, and you'll also be able to join in with future cohorts at no charge.
Registration for the course is now closed.
Join the list below to receive five complimentary lessons and get on the wait list for our next cohort.
Is this for you? Let’s find out.
Who this course is for...
- You often find yourself stuck and feeling frustrated with yourself. There's a lot you need to do, but you don't always know what to do next.
- You're constantly "busy," but you don't always know where the time goes.
- When you get behind, you panic and try to tackle everything at once to make up for lost time.
- You don't only struggle with "getting things done"—you also feel bad about not getting things done, and this feeling creates a self-reinforcing cycle.
- You cycle between moments of clarity and self-doubt, or between ambition and second-guessing.
- The negative story you tell yourself ("I'm always late," "I'll never figure this out," etc.) becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
- You have a lot of responsibilities. People depend on you—but you also want more time for yourself.
- You're going through a change or transition, and want to make the most of what comes next.
Who this course is NOT for
- You don't ever feel overwhelmed, stuck, anxious or frustrated.
- You never doubt how to spend your time or what to do next.
- You're just looking for hacks, tips, and tricks.*
*This course will have some tips, but the focus is on teaching you a new way of living. Your crowded inbox is not the real problem.
What Is It Worth to Feel Better?
The course begins on Wednesday, February 9th. For five weeks, we'll meet once a week for 90 minutes.
- The entire five-week course, including all live sessions and course tools
- Lifetime access to on-demand materials
Everything that's in Essential, plus...
- Access to The Vault, a suite of private interviews and bonus resources
- Follow-up meeting 60 days after the course ends
- Additional on-demand lessons for entrepreneurs and small business owners
Can I get reimbursed by my employer?
Many employers reimburse continuing education expenses. Ask yours! Click here to download a letter in support of your request.
Is there a guarantee?
Yes, there is a 100% money-back guarantee. If you don’t find it changes your life, we’ll refund your tuition in full.
What’s the schedule and timing for the course?
We’ll meet once a week for 90 minutes on Wednesdays at 3:30pm Pacific / 6:30pm Eastern. If these times aren’t good for you, you’ll be able to access all the material and notes afterwards.
Do I have to attend the live sessions?
You’ll benefit the most if you can attend them live, but if not, the recordings and transcripts of each one will be available within 24 hours.
What else do I need to do?
You should expect to spend two to three hours each week on activities that we’ll review during sessions. It’s not a lot of work, but it’s important because you’ll be changing patterns in how you spend your time.
I’m busy right now. Can I do this later?
The course is designed for busy people. The whole point is to help you feel and live better. For us to accomplish this goal together, you need to commit to it. If you have plenty of free time and never feel stressed out, this course is probably not for you.
A personal note from Chris
Hey, so I wrote this whole section for the kind of person who likes to read the whole page before making a decision. Most people will skip it—they'll either hit the back button and disappear, or they'll choose to register without reading.
Since you're in the attention-to-detail club, what do you need to know?
The first thing you should know is that you're not alone.
When I started asking questions on this topic, I heard from hundreds—then thousands—of readers. Some of them said things like this:
"COVID has accentuated the feeling of being lost, not knowing where to start, no drive to do the day to day."
"Constantly feeling like there's never enough time, so any use of time somehow feels wasteful or like it should be rushed."
"I worry that I won't ever get the chance to do something momentous, and I'm running out of time."
"To me the worst part is that I get overwhelmed with it and end up doing even less because I'm so anxious about it that I can't focus on what needs to actually be done."
Note: this is a very small selection of the responses I received. I actually had more than 1,400 pages of data from the initial survey! It's clear that a lot of people struggle with this problem.
I also heard from someone who said this:
"I don't see what the big deal is. You shouldn’t worry about these things."
I laughed when I read that response. You can’t please all the people all the time, right? It's also a great example of someone who shouldn't take this course. (I promise to never tell you to “just stop worrying.” If only it were that easy…).
In addition to not being the kind of person who should take this course, that type of response demonstrates the problem of bad advice. Simply put, a lot of what you’ve been told about “getting things done” is not just wrong, it’s counterproductive.
You read that right: most advice on productivity does more harm than good. It makes you feel worse than you did before.
I couldn't have put it better than one of my readers, who said this in the first survey:
"Most productivity lessons seem geared toward type-A, overachiever folks who are already internally motivated or self-disciplined. It sounds patronizing and lacks heart and soul."
This is a real problem! It affects millions of people. If you’re still reading, I’m guessing you’re one of them.
The next thing you should know is that there is an answer to the problem. There are things you can do to live and work better.
Interestingly, with the strategies you’ll learn, you’ll also be able to get more done and be more effective.
(You read that right, too. Even though understanding time anxiety is not the same as “getting things done,” as part of the process you’ll probably be able to do more once you start applying a few core concepts.)
I’m not going to pretend it’s simple—in fact, it takes work. The forces that are aligned against you are powerful. The productivity industrial complex is strong. But despite all that comes at you every day, it is possible to live better and to be less overwhelmed.
Or maybe, in some ways, it is simple to learn, it’s just hard to implement. That’s why I didn’t want to just write a book about this topic and move on. I wanted to create an interactive learning experience, where we can all work through it together.
Using the cohort-based course model (where everyone starts and ends at the same time), it will be less like a lecture and more like applied learning. Studies show that students have much higher retention when they’re learning together and being accountable for submitting assignments.
So yes, there will be homework. Please don’t sign up if you’re not planning to take it seriously.
If you’ve read this far, most importantly I’d like to say thanks for being part of my world. I’d love to welcome you to the course if it seems like a good fit for you.
If not, that’s okay too! I hope we can remain connected elsewhere. I write books that cost less than $20, I produce a podcast episode every day for free, and if you see me in an airport somewhere, come say hi and we’ll chat.
But for now, I know there are people out there who need this.
I know I’ll get emails from people who miss out and want to register later—and I’ll turn them down, to be fair to those who took action early.
The next step is up to you.
To your future,
P.S. Time anxiety consists largely of two interconnected struggles. First, the big-picture, “What should I do with my life?” questions. Second, the day-to-day, “What should I do right now?” questions.
I’ve noticed that about half of the people identify more with the first struggle, and the other half focus more on the second one. Interestingly, the solutions to the two problems—which initially might seem distinct–are actually closely connected.
If you know what to do with your life, you can better plan your days. If you can get your days under control, you can devote more attention to your life. Throughout the course, you’ll learn specific strategies to improve both areas.
Overcome the fear of running out of time
Registration for the course is now closed.
Join the list below to receive five complimentary lessons and get on the wait list for our next cohort.