Have you ever wondered why time moves so incredibly fast?
I have.
When I was a kid, I got told that time moves faster when we have fun and although that might be true, it certainly doesn’t explain why it’s constantly going fast now, regardless of what we do.
Why does time move so fast?
Are we just imagining it?
How can we keep up with it?
I may have an idea of why we feel this way.
Time is certainly moving at the same pace as always, so that’s not the issue.
We get so caught up with our jobs, having them as our absolute main focal point.
Perhaps doing the same repeated tasks day in and day out, spending countless of hours watching numbers on a screen, stacking hundreds upon hundreds of plates in a dishwasher or whatever it is that we’re doing, it’s always the same hectic deadlines and predictable tasks.
We do the same things constantly.
After about a month or so of getting a new position or job, we’re in the flow and know how everything works.
And that’s where I think the fall begins for us.
We have learnt how to do everything and start to do them on autopilot, without even thinking too much about what we’re actually doing, we just know what to do and how.
And we do it.
There’s nothing significant happening, nothing outrageous or fun that’s memorable.
Just the very same and predictable work every day.
We get it done as quick as we possibly can and tend to forget about ourselves.
And I guarantee most of us does the same predictable things at home as well after having worked a full day, getting comfortable in the couch and watching TV, just waiting for the day to end it seems like, to then go about the next day in the very same way.
I rushed to get things done quicker, I walked faster to save time, I brushed my teeth with immense speed – all to catch back up from those extra minutes spent in bed.
What really happened though was, I lived on autopilot.
I gave no thought as to what I was doing, what was going on in my surroundings.
I just did stuff fast to get them over with.
Have you seen the movie “Click”?
It’s with Adam Sandler, where he uses a powerful TV remote to fast forward time.
He usually skips past the moments he’s not interested in because they’re too boring.
He “wakes up” a few decades later, not realizing he had accidentally fast forwarded to a much later stage in his life.
When his family explained to him what had happened and where he’d been, the answer was very simple.
He’d been with them all the time, doing the things he usually did, but on autopilot, not responding or reacting to anyone or anything, not actually being there mentally.
Just doing the very same things without giving any thought to it.
His situation is a bit extreme and maybe not as realistic, but the irony of the story is not lost on me.
I can relate to his situation.
We’re all pretty much living like Adam Sandler did in the movie.
We’re living on autopilot and doing repetitive tasks without really being present and thinking about them.
Time moving by very quickly and it seems that we’re only getting older, forgetting what our lives truly are about.
Forgetting to cherish every moment and opportunity we get.
I’ve now experienced my two first years of working and geesh those years went by quick.
Quicker than anything I’ve experienced before.
While working, I did the same tasks, drove on the same roads, talked to the same people and ate very similar food, day in and day out.
There’s a point where we stop thinking of what we’re doing because it just happens.
We’re so used to it and know exactly how to get it done.
Like when we’re driving.
We don’t really give it any thought when we brake or accelerate, do we?
Our first couple of times, sure, but then it just happens.
That’s what happens for work, and a ton of other things as well.
That’s why the time feels like it’s just flying by.
Because we’re not fully present in the moment and thinking of what we’re doing.
Our brain just does it for us.
After having worked a full day, let’s be honest, there’s not really a ton of things we have the energy nor are willing to do, so we end up in the couch.
There’s a couple of hours flying by when we watch all the useless stuff on TV where we could instead do lots of other things.
But those other things tend do get pushed to the weekends instead.
So really, we’re not fully living when going through a regular workweek, we’re just getting things done.
This makes it extremely easy to miss out on experiencing the things we want to because of our job sucking out all energy and willingness do anything else.
And all we really do about it is postponing our life to when we’re free from work.
That’s a huge risk, what if something unexpected were to happen and we don’t even get the chance to experience the things we wanted to just because we waited for a “better time”.
Then we’ve just spent our lives working a job while being on autopilot and sadly wasted our precious time away.
Isn’t it better to just do all those things now, while we can, to avoid the risk of missing them altogether?
Making every day count.
Bringing meaning and purpose into our daily life.
Perhaps stop giving our jobs as much dedication as we do and instead focus on our actual life.
Our ending is closing in on us as we speak, we just don’t know how long before it strikes.
It could be days, weeks, months, years or even decades, we just don’t know.
Take advantage of any opportunity coming your way, you never know if there will be another one.
Take the small step required toward any long-term goal might have in mind.
Do something you have so eagerly been wanting to do but are waiting for better times.
We all get one day older each day that passes by, be sure you keep up with the fast moving time.
Slow down a bit and don’t take anything too seriously.
Spend your days with lots of intention, doing the fun parts of life, even if you’re right in the middle of a tough workweek.
Prioritize having energy and time for your own tasks and activities and use the leftovers for working.
Be present in the moment by noticing everything around you.
Engage with your surroundings instead of just observing.
Don’t let your life take you to undesired destinations while you’re the passenger.
Be the driver.