This week, make one small exchange with your time

Time Wealth: Why Some Days Feel Empty and Others Feel Full

Some days slip by without anything to show for them. You look up and wonder: “Where did the time go?”

Other days stay with you — marked by a new experience, or a small moment that feels different.

Both unfold in the same 24 hours. The difference isn’t the clock. It’s how your brain spends them.

🧠 One Brain-Based Insight

We’ve talked before about how habits shape your days. They save energy and keep life moving — and when built with intention, they can drive real growth.

But the brain doesn’t always distinguish between habits that help you and habits that just keep you busy. The Default Mode Network — your autopilot system — takes over, guiding you through default habits that keep you moving but don’t always create value.

That’s important, because you make around 30,000 decisions a day. Without autopilot, your brain would be exhausted. But when most of those hours are filled with default habits and outside demands, the hippocampus (your memory keeper) has little new to record. The day ends, and it feels like it slipped by without meaning.

Have you ever noticed how a vacation day feels longer than a normal workday? That’s because novelty forces the hippocampus to pay attention. New places, new foods, or even a new conversation get encoded in detail. Time seems to stretch.

The same thing can happen in everyday life. Choosing to do something you’ve been meaning to make time for — even something small — wakes the hippocampus up. It records the details. Time feels longer. The day feels more rewarding.

👉 Intentional habits give you structure. Novelty gives your hours weight. Together, they build time wealth.

🔥 One Reset Ritual to Reclaim Your Clarity

This week, carve out 20 minutes for a time audit. (A tool I first came across in Dan Martell’s Buy Back Your Time — worth checking out if you want to dive deeper.)

Think about the pace of your life right now — whether you’re building a business, raising kids, or just keeping up with the day-to-day. Then ask:

• What routines am I running on autopilot?

• Which ones actually support me — and which just keep me busy?

• What’s one thing I’ve been meaning to do that could bring novelty or meaning back into my day?

Then make one simple exchange: replace one draining task with something you love. Trim a default habit, and reinvest that time into something intentional — a project, an experience, or a moment that will stay with you.

Even a small shift rewires the loop, leaving you with a day that feels more intentional and more rewarding.

💭 One Grounded Reflection to Keep You Present

If your time is attention, who’s really spending it — you, or someone else?

Think of your hours like a bank account. Every day, you get a fresh deposit. But most of us let others make withdrawals without noticing. Obligations, meetings, and distractions chip away until there’s nothing left.

That’s how we end up in time debt — giving away our hours without investing in what matters.

Time wealth starts when you notice the leaks and choose to reinvest. When you direct your best hours toward creating, connecting, and building memories, those deposits compound. They don’t fade. They grow into lasting value.

💡 This Week’s Reflection
Where are you overspending your hours — and what’s one place you could start reinvesting them?

⚡ Make Your Deposit

This week, make a conscious deposit into your time wealth account.

Protect one golden hour that belongs to you, and spend it on something you’ve been meaning to do — not because you had to, but because you wanted to.

Notice how different it feels when your hours aren’t spent for you, but by you.

And if this sparked something in you, share it with someone who feels like their time account is always empty. Remind them: the richest wealth isn’t measured in dollars — it’s measured in the hours you own and the moments you expand.

Disclaimer: This newsletter is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.