Book Review: Enjoy Time by Catherine Blythe

Do you enjoy time?

I have to say that up until recently I really haven’t.

I spend my days chasing my tail, rushing to and from school, racing to after school clubs and squeezing in a couple of hours work before crashing in bed.

All for it to start again the next day.

I have been reading self-improvement books for a while now, I have always loved learning and see no reason to stop just because I’ve left the school system. So when I was asked to review Enjoy Time from the Build + Become series, I was interested to see what I could learn from it.

On page 22 I read the first sentence of many that resonated.

“We use the word busy as a synonym for productive. Society reinforces these ideals, celebrating concepts like ‘me time’ because they are luminous exceptions. It normalises the idea that aside from this paltry ‘me time’, our life doesn’t belong to us.”

I forever feel as though I never have enough time, that any ‘me time’ is rare and that I am constantly busy.

But am I?

This book has really made me think about how I spend my time but also my perception of time itself.

My favourite chapter was on how time changes speed. How you can feel like time is crawling along like a snail when you are bored or doing something you don’t enjoy, but that it races as soon as you are having a great time.

Put this into a time usage perspective and we’ll all agree that time races by when we get sucked down the social media black hole. How many hours a day do you waste on your phone? And more importantly – are you even enjoying that time?

I think I’d rather spend that hour catching up with a friend over a coffee. In person.

One of the things I will take with me is the fact that being on your phone or watching tv, although our bodies are still, are not actually relaxing. It is a fast-paced boredom curer, sure but not relaxing.

So how can we relax?

Making time for slow-paced activities will help the brain to unwind and slow time down enough to allow you to relax.

Yoga is a great way to calm down while strengthening your core.
Reading allows you to escape reality and enjoy adventures from the comfort of your sofa.
Puzzles are my personal favourite. They really make you stop and slow right down while you try and find that piece!
Getting crafty with an activity like knitting is a great way to slow down.
Getting out for fresh air by going on a nice long walk is always great for clearing the mind.

Anything that slows you down both physically and mentally is a great way to relax and you will always feel like those hours stretched on for what seemed like the whole day.

Compare that to a day spent in front of the tv when you feel as though you achieved nothing and before you knew it, Monday morning was knocking on your door.

Enjoy time is filled with lots of interested perspectives on time, with action points to put into practice and handy round-ups of each chapter. I now have lots of post-it notes marking key pages that I will refer to again and again.

Now that I have finished the book, I am moving onto the next in the series which is Get Creative. I have always been creative but lately I feel I’ve lost direction a little so am hoping it will give me back my spark. I’ll let you know how I get on!

You can buy all of the books in the Build + Become series on Amazon here but I actually have a great little bundle to give away. Enjoy Time, Get Creative and Think Differently. The perfect bundle for either yourself or to make a lovely Christmas present.

All you have to do is complete the below. Good luck!