Why Does Time Feel Like It’s Flying?
- Jun 10
- 7 min read
What science, nature, and a cup of mint tea taught me about why time feels faster- and how we can gently reclaim it.
Dear friend,
This morning I was sitting on my rooftop with a warm cup of fresh mint tea in my hands.
The sky was cloudy, but in that soft, pleasant sort of way. Everything looked wonderfully green. The trees were dancing in the wind, the birds were busy discussing important bird business, and for a few quiet moments I simply sat and watched. And a question returned to me again
Why do so many people say time is flying?
My mum mentioned it again last week while she was visiting me here in the UK.
"I don't know where the time goes anymore," she said. And honestly, I hear versions of that sentence all the time. Friends say it. Followers say it. People at work say it. Yet the funny thing is, I don't often feel it myself. Of course, weeks pass. Seasons change. Children grow up when we're not looking. But most days don't feel rushed to me. In fact, many days feel surprisingly full.
My mum was visiting from Latvia and we spent some lovely time together. Yet while she spoke about how quickly the weeks seemed to disappear, I realised I wasn't experiencing it in quite the same way. And because I'm naturally curious (and occasionally incapable of leaving a question alone), I decided to do a little research myself.
So with a cup of tea nearby and far too many tabs open on my laptop (a modern form of research, apparently), I started reading what psychologists and neuroscientists had discovered about our perception of time. And what I found was fascinating.
The Strange Thing About Time
The clock moves at exactly the same speed for all of us. Yet our experience of time can feel completely different. Research suggests that our brains don't measure life by minutes and hours. Instead, they measure it through attention, memories, novelty and emotion.
That's why a boring meeting can feel like it lasts seventeen years. Yet Christmas somehow arrives three days after August (Scientific estimate. Possibly.)
What researchers have discovered is that when we look back on a period of life, our brains often judge how long it felt based on how many memorable experiences were stored during that time. If every day looks the same, the brain can start compressing them together. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday - Copy. Paste. Repeat. Suddenly it's December.
Something I've Been Wondering About
And perhaps this is where science and my own beliefs part ways slightly. Because if I'm honest, a small part of me isn't entirely convinced that time exists in the way we think it does. I know the clock on my wall would probably disagree. But sometimes I wonder whether humans created time simply to organise life. Spiritually, I've often felt that what really exists is experience. This moment, this breath, this conversation. Maybe life isn't made of hours and minutes at all. Maybe it's made of moments we notice and moments we miss. I'm not saying I'm right. It's simply a thought I've often found myself returning to.
Why Time Often Feels Faster As We Get Older
Researchers have explored this question for years. One explanation is beautifully simple.
When we're children, almost everything is new. New schools, new friendships, new discoveries, new adventures. Our brains are constantly recording fresh information.
As adults, many of us settle into familiar routines. We drive the same roads, buy the same groceries, see the same places and follow the same weekly patterns.
Because less feels new, our brains create fewer distinct memory markers. Looking back, those months can feel as though they disappeared more quickly.
Another factor is busyness. Studies have found that people who feel rushed, overloaded or constantly short of time often report that life seems to move faster. Perhaps that's because when we're always focused on the next thing, we aren't fully present for the thing we're currently living.
The Secret Isn't Slowing Time
I don't think we can slow time itself. But I do think we can make our experience of life richer. And that's close enough for me. The goal isn't to make life longer. The goal is to make life feel more lived.
A Few Gentle Things That Help Me
These aren't complicated. In fact, they're wonderfully ordinary.
Do Small Things Differently
People often think novelty means skydiving or moving to another country. For me, it usually looks more like taking a completely different route to a place I've already visited ten times before (My sense of direction occasionally regrets this decision.) I often take different walking or running routes simply to change the scenery.
I keep notes on my phone and in my notebook filled with villages, walking trails and little places I'd like to explore one day.
I love trying new teas, new coffee blends, different foods and different podcasts.
Even my reading jumps around. One week it's an English book on psychology.
The next it's a Latvian magazine my dad has sent me. Then suddenly I'm sitting with Dostoevsky in Russian wondering why I've chosen emotional damage as a hobby.
The interesting thing is that research suggests these small moments of novelty create stronger memory markers, helping our days feel more distinct and memorable.
Stop Multitasking Your Life Away
I know. I know. I sound like somebody's grandmother. But hear me out. How many times have we eaten while scrolling? Walked while checking messages? Listened while planning tomorrow? Our attention gets split into tiny fragments. When we fully experience something, our brains record it more richly. One mindful cup of tea can sometimes feel more memorable than an entire distracted afternoon.
Collect Moments, Not Just Tasks
Many of us are brilliant at completing to-do lists. Less brilliant at noticing moments.
I try to collect tiny memories. Sunrise on a rooftop. A conversation with my son or daughter.
A robin sitting on a fence. Laughing so hard tea nearly comes out of my nose. (An underrated life skill.) These become little bookmarks in the story of a year.
Let Yourself Feel Awe
Research increasingly suggests that experiences of awe can alter our perception of time, creating a sense of spaciousness and presence. For me, awe often arrives outdoors.
Standing beside the sea. Watching clouds move across the hills. Looking at stars. Watching the sunrise. Or seeing a landscape so beautiful it makes me stop talking for once. Awe gently reminds us that life is happening right now.
Create Space To Reflect
One reason I love my No-Scroll Sundays is that they create space for life to settle. Recently I spent one of them creating a digital portrait of a ram using my own photographs. Not only was it fun, but I found myself learning new editing techniques, experimenting with prompts and developing skills I'd never explored before. The best part? People actually understood the joke when I shared it online :) Which, if you've ever attempted humour on the internet, feels like a minor miracle.
Reflection doesn't always mean sitting cross-legged on a cushion contemplating the universe. Sometimes it looks like journaling. Sometimes it looks like scrolling through old photographs and smiling at moments you've forgotten. I often revisit pictures from hikes, sunrises, family visits and little adventures. Not because I'm stuck in the past. But because those memories remind me how much life I've actually lived. They often inspire the next thing I want to experience too. Another walk. Another sunrise. Another village I've circled on a map.
Maybe Time Isn't Flying
Maybe we're just carrying too much. Too many tabs open. Too many notifications. Too much rushing. Too much living three days ahead of ourselves. Sometimes I wonder if the answer isn't to slow time at all. Maybe it's simply to return to it. To this breath, this cup of tea, this conversation, this ordinary Monday that will never happen again..
A Gentle Nudge Before You Go
If life has felt as though it's racing lately, perhaps don't ask yourself how to slow time down.
Instead ask: What could I notice more deeply today? Because the moments that stay with us are rarely the biggest ones. They're often the smallest. The ones we were fully present for. The dancing trees. The warm mug between our hands. The laughter around the kitchen table. A phone call with someone we love. A walk we nearly didn't take. A sunrise we paused long enough to watch.
Perhaps that's how we make life feel a little longer. Not by adding more days. But by being more awake for the ones we already have.
Before you go... thank you.
Thank you for reading, reflecting, and sharing a small piece of your day with me.
Whether you're reading this with a coffee, on a lunch break, beside the sea, or curled up on the sofa, I'm grateful our paths crossed for a few moments. And if there's one thing
I hope you take away from this piece, it's this:
Life may not slow down, but we can always return to it.
With Love,
Eva
More Calm If You Need It
If today's reflection stirred something in you, I've left a couple of gentle meditations below that explore similar ideas. One is called You're Not Stuck, because sometimes we all need reminding that growth isn't always loud or visible.
The other, The Truth About Always Putting Others First, was inspired by a recent blog reflection and explores the importance of making space for yourself too.
They're there if you'd like them. And if not, that's perfectly okay too.
Sometimes a cup of tea and a few quiet thoughts are enough.
References
Frontiers in Cognition (2025). Research on awe and time perception.
Women in Neuroscience UK. Time perception, memory and novelty.
University of Michigan Psychology Research on ageing and subjective time perception.
Research on attention, memory formation and retrospective time judgement.
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