The book guides readers through a series of insightful techniques designed to reshape how we think, plan, and act in our daily lives.
On his motivations behind the book, Ian said: “Like many people, I’d always wanted to write a book, but it remained a pipedream. It started to become a reality when I read a book about prioritising big life aspirations and how to do it, then the Covid pandemic happened, and I had a lot of spare time on my hands.”
Ian’s research into the psychology of time led to some surprising discoveries: “Some of the quirky experiments that psychologists create are mind-blowing. For example, scientists have observed how many maggots people kill if they are bored, and successfully made participants believe that cartoon dogs take drugs and lick peoples’ faces. Some research findings are also surprising, like the number of people who prefer an electric shock than to spend fifteen minutes on their own.
“The other surprising aspect is the stories I found outside of science. For example, in the book you can read about Hollywood icons organising colonoscopy parties and what it’s like to spend over 40 years in solitary confinement.”
The book features over 100 practical tips. Ian offered a preview by sharing a select few:
- Never start the day by “clearing the decks” and getting all the small, unimportant tasks off your to-do list. This will just waste time and energy.
- Think about who you want to be, rather than what you want to do or have. The former strategy is a much more effective motivation.
- Never rely on willpower to sustain anything. It was designed to break and evolved in a completely different environment to the one we live in now.
Ian added: “Hopefully, readers will spend their time more wisely to embrace life without burning out. As well as being about time, the book is about finding your mojo and having good balance in your life.”
‘Time Hacks: The psychology of time and how to spend it’ can be purchased online from Little Brown Publishing.