I know journaling might be one, and doing new things from time to time, curious if people have other tips
Finding opportunities for challenge. Comfort usually means you are not being challenged. Just plopping down and watching crap all night will not be remembered.
I started a diary. It’s a nice check in that I can do with myself whenever I feel like it. It’s a good way to take yourself out of autopilot and putting conscious attention at the goings on in your life.
Plus you get to read it later and see how things have actually changed!
I think that’s a great idea! I’ve often wanted to start journaling or a diary, but I am disabled and spend most days miserable and in pain stuck at home or in bed, just trying to distract myself from my symptoms (usually by browsing the Internet, since I don’t have many options) to get through the day, so I don’t really know what to write each day, ya know? I’m commenting in hopes that maybe it’ll help me actually start in some way, lol. Especially because my memory can be pretty spotty and iffy. Maybe I’ll just write about how I don’t know what to write, haha!
Time seeming shorter is just the temporal equivalent of depth perception. You have to put as many distinct things between your present and the future, in the same way distinct objects between you and a distant object makes it look further away.
This is the answer.
Our brains are designed to ignore ordinary things. When you drive the same way to work, do the same things at work all day, come home and ready a familiar meal, then veg out in front of the TV, you’ve done nothing memorable all day.
Then, in retrospect, the days seem to fly by because you don’t have any memory of the time passing.
If you deliberately inject novelty into your days, then you’ll have more memory of the events, and your days will seem full.
The other ones here related to memory (journaling both for being mindful of your days but also to reread and trigger the memory retention curve) will also help. I haven’t seen sleep mentioned, but good sleep is also key to being alert enough to encode memories, having the energy to try novel things, and rest enough to store and process memories for longer-term retention.
Research also says a 20 minute mid-day nap can help with memory formation (not 50 minutes; a full sleep cycle will make you groggy in the afternoon.)
Put it to use. Accomplish something. The grind will be boring, but will go by quickly.
I think they are looking for the opposite effect!
In my experience there are two very different types of slow time: boredom and adrenaline (especially from danger). Lack of stimulation vs extreme amounts of stimulation.
Sorry but can’t help. It seems to move faster and faster as I get older.
Homework for Life | Matthew Dicks | TEDxBerkshires