I’ve often wondered why some years of our lives feel like they lasted forever, while others seem to disappear in the blink of an eye. We keep saying we don’t have enough time, yet somehow days, months and even years keep moving forward without asking our permission. Reading Temporalism: Make Time Your Ally made me look at this familiar problem differently. Instead of asking how to manage time better, the book asks a much more interesting question: what if we could actually make the passage of time work in our favour?

A New Way to Think About Time and Life

The idea that stayed with me most is the author’s metaphor of time as a river. We are all moving along it whether we like it or not. We cannot stop the river, slow it down, or turn it around. What we can influence is where we are trying to go.

That simple image becomes the foundation of Temporalism. Instead of looking at time as an enemy that steals our youth, opportunities and energy, Sheludiakov asks us to see it as a tool that can gradually carry us towards the things we deliberately choose. 

I particularly liked the idea of “star-events”—meaningful moments we consciously create so that our years don’t simply blur into routine. It made me think about how easy it is to be busy every day and still look back and wonder what we actually built.

Long-Term Thinking, Consistency and the Power of Small Actions

This is where the book moves beyond philosophy and becomes genuinely practical. The central message is that small actions multiplied by time can create enormous results. Temporalism places long-term value above instant gratification and encourages us to think about what our present choices are doing for our future selves. 

I also liked the distinction between strategy and tactics. Strategy is deciding where you want to go; tactics are the small actions you take today to get there. Without strategy, we can spend years reacting to whatever life throws at us without really moving in a chosen direction. 

The book applies this thinking to four major areas: health, relationships, self-realisation or career, and financial stability. The point isn’t to become obsessed with achievement in every area, but to build processes that accumulate value over time. 

When Life Doesn’t Go According to Plan

One thing that made the book more interesting for me was that it doesn’t pretend life will always cooperate with our plans. The second part, Time Has Stopped, deals with periods when motivation disappears, circumstances change, or a personal crisis makes the future difficult to imagine.

Here, the author’s idea of a reference point becomes important. Instead of expecting ourselves to keep performing at full strength during a crisis, the book suggests narrowing our focus, maintaining whatever small amount of movement we can, and avoiding destructive decisions made in emotional exhaustion. 

The final section, Strength, takes this further by talking about our “points of support”—the people, values, places, beliefs and personal anchors that help us regain our footing when life knocks us off course. 

For me, this was one of the strongest parts of the book because it gives the idea of strength a more realistic meaning. Strength isn’t about constantly moving forward without falling. It is about being able to return to movement.

Is Temporalism Worth Reading?

Undoubtedly! Temporalism: Make Time Your Ally is not a conventional productivity book; it asks bigger questions about how we use our years and what we are leaving behind as they pass.

At times, I found the book quite philosophical and some ideas are repeated in different forms. But I also think that repetition works in its favour because the author is trying to make one fundamental shift in perspective stick: you cannot control the speed of time, but you can influence what you build while it passes.

I finished the book thinking less about “saving time” and more about investing time. That, for me, is the real strength of Temporalism. Its message is simple but uncomfortable: time will keep moving whether we have a plan or not. So perhaps the better question isn’t “How do I get more time?” but “What do I want my time to create?”

I loved reading this book and I am sure you will love it too. Get your copy of the book on Amazon: Temporalism by Ilia Sheludiakov or Author’s website.

About the Author

Ilia Sheludiakov is the author of Temporalism: Make Time Your Ally. In the book, Sheludiakov openly describes himself not as a professional scientist, psychologist, life coach or philosopher, but as someone exploring a question that became deeply personal to him: how to use the passage of time to build a happier and more meaningful life. His concept of Temporalism grew from that exploration and centres on long-term thinking, conscious strategy, consistent action and the belief that time can become an ally rather than an enemy.