Time feels like it's passing differently
2020 made us aware that we experience the passage of time different from reality. The days felt stretched out, and some months seemed to go on forever.
Time has two faces: One is the "objective time" of watches and calendars. The second is "lived time", the time of your subjective experience. This time is felt, lived, and acted.
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The pandemic has given us first-hand experience of the fundamental nature of time.
Looking into the past, we cannot remember exactly how many months ago the Australian bushfires were raging. Looking into the future, we wonder when we will be able to go on holiday? If we knew the world would be back to normal in three months, time would feel as if it is passing more quickly. Since we don't know, life drags on.
We mostly don't pay attention to lived time since we find objective time more useful. But we can get an understanding of the difference between them when they come apart.
An hour spent at the dentist's office feels long and drawn out while an hour at a party feels like it is passing by very quickly.
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There’s a common idea that time feels like it speeds up as you age.
The theory is that the perception of time relies on the number of memories formed in a period. The more new and surprising experiences, the slower time feels.
Rather than being frustrated with boredom or using it as an excuse, find out why you feel discontent.
- Most important is to stop dwelling on the idea that you are bored.
- Instead, figure out why you're bored right now.
- Create a list of activities for when you feel energetic and bored, and when you're feeling more tired. The activity could be reasonably mindless, like knitting an easy pattern or getting a cup of coffee. The point is to find an activity that feels meaningful.
Research shows there may be beneficial effects to baking, like less stress, emotion management and social connection.
Spending time in the kitchen is a kind of self-care that's desperately needed during the long months of isolation.