Time pressure is one of the tools of mind control, especially powerful in technological societies. It is more powerful in some cultures than in others. It depends on the work people do, how people perceive themselves, and many other factors. Some people actually are friends with time, and it doesn't harm them, but most are harmed much by time pressure. It is one of the main factors causing stress and sickness.
An example of time pressure is daily schedule. I started describing a typical human day and covered about one hour. After that, more important subjects came up and I didn't continue. I may return to describing a human day later in the book. Now I will briefly outline the timing of the day. Things that go without saying are biological functions - like solid and liquid discharge. Some other functions like checking email, answering the phone goes all day long without much schedule.
6.30am: Wake up, coffee, shower, breakfast, dress up for work, wake up kids, prepare their close and backpacks for school, breakfast for kids, check email first time, dress and pack a backpack for work.
8am-8:30am: help kinds to school busses.
8:30am-9am drive to work, find parking, walk to work.
9am-1pm: work
1pm-1:30pm: lunch and other activities
1:30pm-5:30pm
5:30pm: drive back home, pick up kids from after school care.
6pm-7pm: shower, make dinner
7pm-8pm: dinner
8pm-9.30pm: check homework, watch a movie at home, wash dishes, some days: do a bit of shopping, wash clothes and wash kids.
9:30pm-10:30pm: put the kids to bed, read books to kids, go to bed.
10:30pm-6:30am: sleep
This is an example of a typical work day. Weekends are different - there is no work at work, but there are some home works. Many people go to church, some go to nature, many go shopping.
In civilized countries there are 5 working days a week, and 2 days weekend with no work. 40 working hours per week is a standard in America and other developed countries.
In poor countries, some people may work much longer hours per week and many would have no jobs at all. Currently, there are many unemployed everywhere, including America. Some people are self-employed; their schedule may be quite different. Some people work night shifts. Some work flexible schedule. A small percent of people are working now at home remotely, this would be typically computer work, programming, writing, editing and graphics design.
This all seems pretty organized and not too bad except time pressure creates a lot of stress and negativity. Many people, especially ones with children are under constant time pressure. Financial pressure is also important, but here, let's focus on the time pressure.
Many people are constantly in a hurry. Observe our roads in big cities in rush hour and you will get the picture. People in big cities are often in a hurry and late. Their day schedule is parked with things which are important for them and they don't have time for other important things. People often multitask - work and listen to music and news, drive and listen, drive and talk on the phone, eat and read, eat and watch television, exercise and listen to news. Sometimes people would do 3 things at once, but this often becomes inefficient. People make plans; keep a list of things to do. The list of things to do is needed because our heads are so messed up that we forget things.
I say: "Really important things are not for to-do list." Meaning that really important things are of so high priority, people don't forget about them. To-do list is only for things that can be forgotten. Really important things are like breathing: you don't have to keep them in mind.
By now, I have described to you the state of hurry, the tightly packed day schedule and I see that you may find it difficult to understand why time pressure can be stressful. Likely both concepts of time pressure and of stress are foreign to you.
Understand that most humans are very afraid of death. Most humans believe that this is the only life they have and survival therefore is a very high priority for us. Understand also that with our biological design and our technology, we are quite fragile: we need air, water and food regularly; discharge and washing are also critical regular functions. Our cities are designed in such a way that it is very easy to mess up the life functions, become sick and die. Especially vulnerable are our children and elders. Parents not only have to take care of themselves but also the children. Keeping in mind who needs what and when is an art. It takes years of training to be self-sustainable in our cities. In addition, people tend to fight and to harm each other. It is an additional hassle to avoid this kind of harm. Driving is dangerous for the life of the driver and for others which the driver could harm if the driver makes a mistake. Especially dangerous are the roads because people are constantly in a hurry. People frequently see deaths of others on the roads. Many other deaths caused by disease are hidden from the sight. Death is very real in our lives and most people fear it more than it deserves.
A habit of being constantly in a hurry and being often late is of course artificial and instilled in people by parents and the society. It starts in the family and is strengthened by education, peers and work environment. Some people pack their schedule tighter and some live more relaxed lives. Ultimately, it depends on the goals of the person, what the person wants to achieve, how realistic the person is about their needs and abilities. Human society in the West and in the East brings up overachievers. Competition and achievements are praised. People strive to become successful, have more money, do more, have better quality of life, better mates and better families. Many, but not all, value children. Some people, especially in civilized societies, avoid having children since it is a hard work to bring them up. Genes of these people are therefore under negative selection.
In the school and later in life, people are punished for being late. In Soviet Union, in 1930s through 1950s, a minor tardiness resulted in job loss which would result in extreme poverty. Now, in most places it is a bit more rational, but still, people are punished for tardiness and generally are afraid of being late - to work and to appointments. Still, people constantly oversaturate their schedule with things to do since these things are or perceived to be important for them. Some of these things to do are important for survival and some are largely cultural and not practical. For example, in many countries, people spend much time and money on looking good and dressing up well. It is often practically needed for their social success but only because of cultural perceptions, and not because of physiological needs.