Do You Also Feel Like Time Flies Way Faster Than It Used To?

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Time Doesn’t Fly—Your Brain Just Stops Noticing It

Your brain doesn’t track time by minutes or days. It tracks time by experiences.
New experiences = more mental markers.
Repetitive routines = fewer memory “checkpoints.”

So when your days start looking the same—same screen, same tasks, same environment—your brain compresses those memories into less space. That’s why months feel like weeks, and entire years feel like a blur.

💡 Fun Fact: Studies show that people perceive time as passing more slowly when they’re exposed to new or emotionally intense experiences.

Dopamine and Novelty: Why Everything Feels Quicker Now

Novelty releases dopamine, the neurotransmitter that makes things feel interesting, engaging, and memorable.

But as we age—or live more predictably—we stop seeking novelty. Same places. Same faces. Same patterns.

Less dopamine = less presence.
Less presence = less memory.
Less memory = the illusion of time speeding up.

📌 That “Where did this year go?” feeling? It’s often a sign that your brain hasn’t had enough new input to break up the monotony.

How to Slow Time Down (Without Going Off-Grid)

The goal isn’t to constantly chase extremes—it’s to intentionally inject novelty and presence into daily life.

Here’s how to start:

• ✋ Do something different every week—new café, new route, new class

• 📸 Take photos of mundane moments to “bookmark” memory

• 🧠 Learn something unfamiliar (a new recipe, new movement, new app)

• ✍️ Reflect weekly: journaling helps imprint time into memory

• 🧘‍♂️ Practice presence—not everything needs to be fast-forwarded

💡 Pro Tip: Emotional intensity slows time perception. It’s why even hard moments often feel more real than comfortable routines.

The Time-Fatigue Loop

Here’s the catch: the more time feels like it’s slipping away, the more exhausted we become trying to keep up. That feeling of “I’m behind” feeds anxiety, pushes us into overdrive, and ironically makes us even less present. It becomes a loop—rushing through the day, then wondering where it went.

Breaking that loop doesn’t require a life overhaul. It just takes intentional moments of disruption—where your brain has to stop, pay attention, and create new markers in time. That’s how you slow things down—not by doing less, but by noticing more.

Time isn’t flying—you’re just not registering it.
When life becomes too predictable, your brain compresses those days into a highlight reel with no highlights.

But you can take control. You can make time feel full again by being more present, more curious, and more willing to break the pattern—even in small ways.
Because when your brain pays attention, time slows down.