These 20 ‘time wins’ are guaranteed to bring your life a moment of joy

Research of 2,000 adults revealed 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 were someone else tidying the house (17 per cent), or the bus and train shockingly turning up on time (16 per cent). Such boosts were seen as real moments of joy as 41 per cent struggle to make enough time for the little things in life due to endless tasks.

And more than half (57 per cent) 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 spokesperson 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.”

Fist-pump moments

The study also found 70 per cent confess to feeling so busy on some days, they simply don’t know where the time goes. More than eight in 10 (83 per cent), 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 in two weeks when they were expecting it to be much longer (28 per cent).

Or braving the shops expecting a long trawl to find the perfect item - only to pick it up first time (27 per cent). On average, respondents enjoy three such ‘time wins’ a week - and 30 per cent 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 - although a vocal 11 per cent will say ‘yes!’ out loud - even if they’re on their own. Just over six in 10 (62 per cent) of those polled, via OnePoll, have also engineered a time win for someone else, with 42 per cent of these saying it made them feel happy about themselves.

A spokesperson 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.”   

The top 20 ‘time wins’

1. A big queue at a supermarket check-out but then a new one opens and you’re the first to be served.
2. When you go into a doctor’s waiting room and get called straight away.
3. Finding a parking space first time.
4. When a delivery said 6-8 weeks but it turns up in two.
5. When a task you’ve been putting off is shorter than expected.
6. Finding exactly what you’re looking for in the first shop you try.
7. When you roll up to some traffic lights/road works which notoriously take ages to get through, but it turns green immediately.
8. No traffic on your way to work or on your way home from work.
9. Plans are cancelled so you can be at home and get jobs done you weren’t able to before.
10. Getting home when it’s time for tea, to find someone’s made it for you.
11. Someone else tidying the house for you.
12. When the train/bus actually turns up on time - to your surprise.
13. When your flight somehow manages to land earlier than it said it would.
14. A work call finishing earlier than expected.
15. There being no queue at the tip (recycling centre) so you can sail in and out.
16. When the other person doesn’t turn up for the online meeting.
17. Both you and your partner agreeing on a film to watch on first suggestion.
18. A client cancelling a work call.
19. Getting a reservation in your favourite restaurant that’s usually difficult to book.
20. When you turn up to board a flight and then you remember you have speedy boarding.