Oxthink

As we get older, we recognise the importance of making the most out of life, that life is finite and that all too soon our life will be over.

And yet, as we get older, as we become more appreciative of time, as time becomes seemingly more precious, it does seem to pass so much quicker. Why is it that time seems to fly by, and the older we get, the faster it seems to go?

“It feels like it happened yesterday.”

“Where has the time gone?”

“I can’t believe that was six months ago.”

“It’s Thursday again, already! That week’s gone quick!”

Of course, given that time is a defined constant, this sense of time as being of a variable speed must be in the mind. It’s not real. It’s just a sensation, a perception.

Generally, we don’t want to think that time is passing us by. It makes us feel that we are not using it as well as we might, that we are wasting it, that we are merely waiting for our time to end. Our time should be precious; we should value it more and use it more fully.

But why do we also have this feeling that time is getting faster, that the days, weeks and years are going by quicker? The older we get, the less time we seem to have.

There are a number of possible reasons:

• It may be because we’re not doing new things. We may have become unadventurous, boring and stale. Perhaps our brain craves new experiences, and without them, we have no recognition of having actually done anything. Our time is lost. A constant desire to indulge in new activities, meet new people, and visit new places may therefore be the best way to slow the passage of time through the senses. This may be why, looking back, our childhood can seem to last for ages, because every day brings new learning and new experiences.

• Perhaps we get too stuck in our routines. Whether daily, weekly or annually, we repeat the same processes. We watch the same television programmes, we cook the same meals, and we go to the same places. Some of us are more habitual than others; the same hotel in the same resort at the same time of year; the same job in the same office for thirty years. It may be safe and comfortable, but it can also be dull and boring. It makes life mundane. One week is very much like another. It therefore blurs the passing of time.

• It may be that time seems to pass that much quicker if we do not have any challenges, purpose or ambition. When we’re young, we have things that we want to do – to have a family, a successful career, an agreeable lifestyle. But as we get older, for many of us, there becomes less that we want to achieve. We have either done what we wanted to do or realised that it isn’t going to happen. And so we are no longer trying to get anywhere. As such, it may feel that life has stagnated. We are going through the motions of life. There’s no destination that we have set ourselves, so we live at the mercy of life rather than trying to get control of it ourselves – adrift at sea rather than pursuing a defined course. With no particular end in sight and no identifiable markers to indicate any progress we can make, it seems we can lose our sense of time. Instead, by knowing where we are on our journey and how far we still have to travel, we can establish time slots that anchor us and, in relation to our activity, prevent time from becoming just a vague, detached measure. The more we connect time to who we are and what we do, the more time we will seemingly have.

• As we get older, the significant events in our lives also begin to stand out more – a great holiday, starting a new job, moving to a new house, a special occasion, a much-enjoyed night out. They become the markers of our lives. And the more they stand out, the less significant everything else becomes. The momentous times make our everyday, humdrum existences less memorable and distinct. It means we are more likely to lose track of time between these special moments. One minute we seem to be at our thirtieth birthday celebration; the next we’re at our fortieth.

• It may just be that as we get older, we become more aware of our mortality. Time takes on a new meaning and value. We recognise our inevitable expiration and may even, perhaps, estimate when it will occur. We are on the descent of life. As such, it becomes like a runaway train, gathering speed towards the ever-approaching buffers.

Our sense of the passage of time does change. As we age, it seems to go by more quickly.

This doesn’t mean that we don’t have any control over it. Given that it’s a matter of individual perception, we may be able to do things that make it feel as if time isn’t moving quite so quickly.

The more we pack into our time, the more we make the most of it, and the more time we will feel we have had. In seeking to achieve this, we should seek out the new and the different, shun boredom and idleness, and break monotony and repetitiveness.

By doing these things, by the way we manage our time, we might not feel quite so much that time is passing us by.