Do you find yourself – like I do – saying “Where did the year go? How can it be November (December) already?” Why does time seem to speed up as we get older? And are there ways we can make it slow down?
One explanation is the proportion of life theory. When you are a 5-year-old, one year represents 20% of your time experience, making it feel huge. To a 50 year old, one year is only 2% of their life, making it feel minor and quicker by comparison.
Another explanation is that our brains measure the passage of time by the number of new memories we create. Most adults encounter far fewer new experiences than children do. When you are young, almost everything is new. First bike ride, first day at school, new places. Your brain tends to store these new experiences in rich detail. The order we get, the less likely it is that we find ourselves in a new situation. Part of that is because is just normal life but part of it is also due to human nature. With age, most of us become increasingly stuck in old, comfortable habits and routines. If we are doing the same things week after week, we are not presenting our brains with anything juicy and new to hang on to. Fewer new memories made can make weeks blend into months and months into years. Time has, to all intents and purposes, sped up.
The good news is that the above explanation holds the key for some of the ways we can slow down the perceived passage of time.
Determine to try to stop being on autopilot. We can “stop and smell the roses” for one thing. We can try to stop rushing around in a hurry to get to the next thing on our to-do list. We can remind ourselves to pay full attention to whatever we are doing right now or to the conversation we are having with another. One writer suggested taking a few minutes at the end of the day to write down or think about specific details from that day. Challenge your memory by asking yourself what memorable thing happened today that you will recall.
Consider adding meditation or mindfulness exercises to your life.
Introduce novelty by adding one or two new activities to your life. Break up your routine by signing up for a book club or a class. Travel to a new place or a new way to an old place. Pick up a new hobby or volunteer activity. Any of these will help force your brain to pay attention and make fresh memories.
Consider undertaking something even more challenging to encourage your brain to work harder and lay down some complicated and denser memories. Pick up a new language, take a painting class or learn to play a musical instrument. That will do it!
Life goes by fast. As Ferris Bueller said: “If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” In retirement we have total freedom to create the life we want. Never in our lives had we had so much freedom to get off autopilot and live life with intention.
