Your Day Is Full Of “Time Confetti.” No Wonder You’re Fried.

Do you ever feel like you have a million things to do, and you’re constantly doing stuff, but you just never feel that productive — and yet remain utterly exhausted? Oh, every day? Same, friend. The endless loop of constantly switching between tasks leads to a feeling of never getting enough done, but also never really having any downtime, either. There’s a term used to describe this: “time confetti.” And it seems as though we’re all struggling with it more than ever.

The term was first coined by Brigid Schulte, author of Overwhelmed: How to Work, Love & Play When No One Has the Time. She described time confetti as trying to do “Everything. All at once. All the time.” In other words, just rushing from one thing to the next, losing tiny bits of time along the way to all of the mundane multitasking. Sounds familiar, right?

As you might have guessed, this phenomenon tends to disproportionately affect moms, who are most often the default parent and primary caregiver. And while these little moments may seem small, stitched together, they erode our peace, focus, and well-being. So, I reached out to experts to unpack “time confetti” and figure out how we can keep it from chipping away at our sanity.

Why Time Confetti is Everywhere (Especially for Moms)

As a working mom, I feel like time confetti has always been a part of my life since having kids. However, lately, it seems like an even bigger struggle. Where are my days going? Why do I always feel like I’m swimming in circles?

“Time confetti happens because life is pulling us in so many directions all at once. For parents and women, this can feel even more intense,” confirms L’Taundra Everhart, national education expert, leadership trainer, and founder of Before You Go! Mixed Greens for the Soul. “We often carry the invisible load, which means managing not just our own schedules but everyone else’s too. That constant juggling turns any free moment into tiny scattered bits of time that are hard to control or use meaningfully.”

“We might end up feeling busy and unproductive at the same time. Over time, it can dysregulate our nervous system and contribute to feelings of anxiety, overwhelm, guilt, and burnout, especially when we believe we should be doing more.”

Empowerment coach and women’s leadership strategist Gia Lacqua, host of What the Shift and founder of Radical Prioritization, points out that a major contributing factor to time confetti is the culture of hustle that we’ve been steeped in. “We’ve been taught to fill every moment, not feel into what we need,” she says. “And in a culture obsessed with output, even rest gets twisted into a performance metric (‘Did you meditate? Journal? Stretch?’). That pressure turns even white space into a to-do list.”

When even rest has become performative, it merely adds to the emotional toll of the invisible load, and we feel the need to multitask even more. “This form of multitasking creates a chronic cognitive fragmentation, which studies have shown can increase stress levels and reduce our ability to truly focus on deep work,” explains Dr. Charles Sweet, a Johns Hopkins-trained board-certified psychiatrist and medical advisor for Linear Health.

What It’s Doing to Our Brains & Bodies

We’re not just talking about an annoying time-suck here. Time confetti takes a real toll on us, mentally and physiologically. As Lacqua points out, the constant task-switching drains executive function: “The brain doesn’t get to complete a cycle. Emotionally, it leaves women feeling unaccomplished, scattered, and resentful — especially when they’re the default parent carrying the invisible load of everyone else’s needs.”

Everhart notes that our brains really need longer stretches of focus to do their best work. “When time gets chopped into little pieces, it forces the brain to jump from one thing to another, which wears us out fast,” she says. “Emotionally, it can make us feel stressed, anxious, and like we are never really present or rested. It’s exhausting.”

That’s because time confetti makes it harder to enter flow state, says Sweet, “which describes the ability to fully be focused and satisfied.” The result? “We might end up feeling busy and unproductive at the same time. Over time, it can dysregulate our nervous system and contribute to feelings of anxiety, overwhelm, guilt, and burnout, especially when we believe we should be doing more.”

It makes sense that this would hit mothers hardest, because we’re already always worried about how to do everything for everyone and keep our households on track.

“Women — especially mothers and high achievers — are drowning in micro-moments that feel like they should be productive, but instead, we’re paralyzed,” says Lacqua. “We finally get five minutes to ourselves, and we don’t even know what to do with it. That overwhelm leads to inertia, which leads to shame, and the cycle repeats.”

What TF to Do About It

So, where do we go from here? What are some realistic strategies for reclaiming our time?

First of all, we’ve got to reframe how we think about maximizing our time. “Let go of the idea that you need large, uninterrupted blocks of time to do meaningful things,” advises Sweet. “Making the most out of small windows (also called microproductivity) can be incredibly powerful. Try meditating for three minutes, journal a sentence, or send one thoughtful text. When these little things are done consistently, those moments of productivity add up.”

“Your time isn’t something to be earned; it’s something to be claimed. That starts with redefining your priorities and setting boundaries that support them,”

Everhart agrees, saying, “Even a short phone-free pause for five minutes can help patch those broken-up bits of time so you can reset your focus and calm your mind. It’s about being purposeful with the small pockets of time instead of letting them slip away unnoticed.”

Lacqua recommends creating a “power menu” for different time slots — think two minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes. “That way, when you get a pocket of time, you’re not spinning your wheels deciding what to do; you just do it.”

How to Hack Time Autonomy

If you’re wondering if time autonomy is ever truly achievable, you’re obviously not alone. And, OK, realistically, total time autonomy probably isn’t a thing (especially for moms?!). As Lacqua puts it, “Not if we keep measuring success by how much we can cram into a day.”

However, a few mindset shifts can go a long way toward at least minimizing the negative effects of time confetti. A big shift that needs to happen? Creating and enforcing boundaries.

“Your time isn’t something to be earned; it’s something to be claimed. That starts with redefining your priorities and setting boundaries that support them,” says Lacqua. “You don’t owe anyone constant accessibility.”

Sweet adds that you should really cover all the bases when forming boundaries, encouraging, “Create psychological boundaries, not just physical ones. It can mean mentally designating your morning coffee as a no-phone zone or using transition rituals between roles to help your brain reset.”

And remember, downtime is not the enemy! It actually helps you achieve what you want to in the long run. “Resting is not a waste,” insists Lacqua. “Scrolling might be. The key is conscious and intentional choice. Sometimes, doing nothing on purpose is the most productive thing you can do — because it resets your system.”