Why Does Time Seem To Fly As We Get Older?

The year 2016 is almost over, and it was a memorable one. The Cubs finally won the World Series, we lived through another Olympics, and we witnessed one of the biggest political upsets in the modern era.

But for me, this year went by very quickly. Just like the year before, and the last few years before that. In fact, it seems like the last decade went by in a blur. Since we’re on the subject of elections, does it surprise you that the equally controversial Bush/Gore presidential election was 16 years ago? Most people my age remember it like it was just a few weeks ago.

The quick passage of time is a common complaint for many people. It seems like there isn’t enough time to do everything we want.

Even though the passage of time is constant for everyone, how each person perceives the passage of time is different, and no one is sure why.

Some have suggested that there are biological reasons for time speeding up as one gets older. One article suggests things like changes in metabolism and brain activity. However, these are hypotheses at best, and they do not take into account life experiences.

After talking to others, observing my own daily activities, and thinking about my childhood, I learned that as we transition into adulthood, we have to live our lives differently. I think these differences explain (at least partially) why time seems to fly as we get older. Here are a few.

We have more freedom and choices. If your childhood was like mine, we didn’t have a lot to do when we were young. Our parents and teachers supervised everything we did at various levels. So most days, we didn’t do much while waiting for something good to happen. Do you recall waiting for the final school bell to ring so you could go home? What about waiting for your favorite Saturday morning cartoons? Didn’t those moments feel like an eternity? If you have nothing to do, you get bored, and that’s when time slows to a crawl.

Now that we are older, we are for the most part free to do what we want. We also have more choices as to how we spend our time. We can travel, read a book, go out with friends, or just watch TV, to name a few. While people with money have more choices, you can still do a lot of things for free or at low cost. It has got to the point where doing nothing is a choice.

So when we are spending our time doing what we choose to do, time tends to go by faster.

We have more responsibilities. But in order to enjoy ourselves as I described above, we also have to do the adult stuff, like working. If you have families, you have to spend time meeting their needs as well.

As a solo practitioner, I have to do many things. Meet with clients, pay bills, bill clients, look for a deal on computers, deal with opposing counsel, pay for the subway pass, make coffee (but forget to drink it), return phone calls, and contemplate hiring an assistant.

Most of these are mindless chores, which can turn a day into a long grind. But surprisingly, doing this drudge work makes the day go faster. When we are “in the zone,” we are not thinking about the clock.

But before I switch from doing one task to another, I need to take a break so I can prepare myself mentally. This leads to the next problem…

We have more distractions. Years ago, if we were bored at school or in the office, we didn’t have a lot of ways to briefly entertain ourselves. We were limited to daydreaming while looking out the window, taking a smoke break (back when it was allowed indoors), or reading the fashion magazine we managed to sneak in.

The internet changed all that by giving us just about every distraction available in a computer screen. By going online, we have access to games, cat photos, social media, shopping, real news, fake news, and making fun of people on anonymous message boards.

Of course, employers wised up to this and started to restrict and monitor internet use in the office. But don’t tell them about smartphones and the new distractions they created, like Tinder, text messaging, and push notifications.

We worry more. People today worry a lot. Sometimes for good reason. We worry about not getting everything done in time. We worry about getting laid off or not meeting the monthly revenue minimum. We worry about a client refusing to pay or demanding a refund.

When we worry, we think of all of the worst-case scenarios and think about the long-term consequences in vivid detail. And for those with short attention spans, worrying about one thing can lead to being anxious about something else.

All of the worrying takes up time.

So is there a way to make our day feel slower? At the very least, make the good parts of the day slower so we can savor the moments, while speeding up the bad parts of the day so we can get them over with. One day, someone might invent a pill or an app that can help us do that.

Considering the above, maybe we could have a slower day if we had fewer distractions, responsibilities, and worries. But we might risk being bored as we were during childhood. Is that trade-off worth it?

I think the best solution is to simplify your life, get the stupid stuff done as quickly as possible, and don’t sweat the small stuff. But we should also remember that every moment is precious.

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Shannon Achimalbe was a former solo practitioner for five years before deciding to sell out and get back on the corporate ladder. Shannon can be reached by email at [email protected] and via Twitter: @ShanonAchimalbe.