The top 20 life “time wins” include having a parking “angel” deliver the perfect spot, a cancelled work call – and a new supermarket till opening when you’re queueing at the checkout, a survey has found. Research of 2,000 adults revealed that not having to wait in the doctor’s waiting room, or arriving home when it’s time for tea, and finding someone’s already made it for you, are also bonuses.
As are someone else tidying the house (17 percent), and the bus or train shockingly turning up on time (16 percent).
Such boosts were seen as real moments of joy, as 41 percent struggle to make enough time for the little things in life due to endless tasks.
But more than half (57 percent) are actively trying to focus on themselves more, by improving their self-care routine with small, but achievable, things.
These include reading that book that has been sitting there for months, fitting in some exercise, or becoming absorbed in a game or a puzzle.
A spokesman from Gala Bingo, which commissioned the research to launch its “All The Calls” competition, said: “It’s those “made in heaven” moments, when you’ve managed to grab back a bit of time for yourself, that make you feel like you’ve really hit the bullseye.
“So, it’s really interesting to see the top 20 time wins, as voted by the public. Imagine if all of these things happened to you in one day – that’d really be “landing a score”.
“However, our favourite time win on the top 20 list was the lucky number seven, with rolling past those traffic lights or roadworks when you thought you’d get stuck for ages.”
The study also found 70 percent confess to feeling so busy on some days, they simply don’t know where the time goes. More than eight in 10 (83 percent), however, do appreciate the moments in life that allow them to gain back a bit more time.
And other “time wins” that delight the nation include a delivery turning up within two weeks, when they were expecting it to be much longer (28 percent), or braving the shops expecting a long trawl to find the perfect item – only to pick it up first time (27 percent).
On average, respondents enjoy three such “time wins” a week – and 30 percent would feel “amazed” if they hit 10 in one day.
The main instinct people have, when they encounter one of these little ways to steal back time, is to simply smile quietly and hope their luck doesn’t change. However, a vocal 11 percent will say “yes!” out loud – even if they’re on their own.
Just over six in 10 (62 percent) of those polled, via OnePoll, have also engineered a time win for someone else, with 42 percent of these saying it made them feel happy about themselves.
A spokesman for Gala Bingo, which has a £50K competition for those who can find all 90 calls hidden in a short film, added: “We could all use a bit of extra time in our lives, and doing something to give a time win to someone else – like tidying the house – is a great favour to bestow.
“This research shows people in the UK are great at finding silver linings and little positives to brighten their days.
“Just as these small time wins give Brits the little joys in life, we want to give people something else to smile about, by celebrating their time win and using it to take part in our competition.”
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