3 Ways to Feel Like Time is Abundant

Do you often feel like you are rushing through life day after day, with never enough time?  Do you feel like you are missing out on time with your family, don’t have enough time to exercise, or can’t find the time to plan your meals for the week?  If these statements describe you, you are not alone.  Most people spend their days feeling like a hamster on a wheel, just trying to get everything done.  They may look up and wonder where the past week went, and constantly feel exhausted.

Every once and awhile though, we meet someone who seems to have all the time in the world.  Have you had the experience of talking with someone who clearly has a lot going on in their life, yet seems to be able to make time for you easily?  They seem much less stressed, and exude an air that they “have it all together”, rarely looking harried or flustered.  How do they do it?

The answer lies in the experience of time, or time perception.  Everyone as the same 24 hrs in the day, so the only way to feel like time is abundant is to change your thoughts about it.  Changing the way you think about, and experience time will lead you to feeling like your time is abundant, rather than scarce. 

The Brain Stores Memory Differently                                                                           

Knowing how the brain stores memory and the perception of time helps us understand how to alter our experience of time.  Repetitive experiences such as brushing your teeth, driving to work the same route, or even running for exercise on the same route everyday become compressed in your mind.  Each day of a repetitive experience becomes compressed into one global memory of that experience.  When you do something new and different, your mind focuses in on the details more.  It feels like it takes longer, because your brain is taking in all of the new information – not just going on autopilot.  It is actually creating more memories of the new event. 

3 Ways To Feel Like Your Time is Abundant

1.   Do Something Different

Your brain will slow down and focus when you are engaging in a new or different activity.  If you want to feel like your time is more abundant, try adding new experiences into your regular day.  This can be fairly simple to do, as you don’t need a big change to get great results.  For example, if you want to spend more time with your kids, but they seem to always be in their room doing homework, try taking them to a new place to do homework together.  I recently did this with my teenager.  In order to connect more, and feel like we were spending some quality time together, I took him to Starbucks and sat at a table doing my work on a laptop, while he did homework.  The newness of the experience made it feel much longer than it was, and he spent more time talking to me as we were seated together (rather than him disappearing to his room).  For the price of a bagel, I was able to learn more about what was going on in his life, and time seemed to slow down so that I thoroughly enjoyed my two hours with him. 

Other ways to incorporate new experiences might include taking a new route while walking or running for exercise.  This will make the time seem to stretch, and you can enjoy the scenery.  You might even try driving somewhere to try a new route – even a short 10 min drive will make it seem as though you spent much longer.  Instead of watching TV after dinner, try going for a short walk.  You can do this by yourself, or convince a significant other, child, or neighbor to go with you to make you feel like you have spent some quality time with them.  Try a new restaurant or activity on a date night so the time does not seem to slip away so fast.  You can even do something as simple as trying a new bubble bath scent while enjoying a relaxing soak to make it seem to last longer.

2.   Get Enough Sleep

This usually goes without saying for health, but getting enough sleep is also important for improving the perception of time, and making new memories.  Sleep has been shown to be essential for the formation of new memories.  Memories are stored into permanent memory during deep sleep, which is one of the reasons we function better and seem more “on top of things” in our daily lives when we are getting plenty of rest.  Remembering all of the new activities you are doing helps with your overall thoughts that time is abundant.  Additionally, when you are alert and well rested, you brain will be able to focus on small details better, thus slowing the perception of time passing.  When you are exhausted, and can’t concentrate, you often end the day without really recalling what happened. 

3.    Make A Point to Savor the Small Moments

In order to improve the perception of time, you need to focus on the small details.  Your brain tries to be efficient, and will often skip over things that seem routine.  You have to force it to stop and take notice of the events happening around you, which in turn makes you feel less rushed.  An example would be to savor every bite of your food.  If you eat mindlessly while watching TV, working on the computer during your lunch break, or while reading a magazine, you will finish your food and feel like you didn’t eat very much and can’t really remember your food.  On the contrary, by slowing down and savoring each bite without distractions, you will feel like you spent a much longer time enjoying your meal, and your brain will be more likely to register that you feel full and had enough to eat.  This is an extremely powerful tool for weight loss.  Similarly, you can take time to stop and look out a window, notice the breeze in the air, or take a moment to feel grateful for your home.  Savoring these details will transform you from feeling rushed to feeling at ease and living from a place of abundance.