How Do You Experience Time?
There’s a physical reality to Time, But,
Your personal experience of time is much more dependent on: your mind, mental state and habits,
Time-Absorbed
If you struggle to organize your time, keep up with deadlines or juggle your schedule, part of the problem could be the way your mind naturally experiences time.
Time-Aware
If you’re constantly checking your calendar, a list or a plan, even on weekends — the reason could be the way your mind naturally experiences time.
Because Time Is A Funny Thing
We experience daylight and darkness. Seasons change.
Natural time indicators that are useful for our minds’ perception of time.
Clocks move forward. Deadlines arrive.
Somewhat less straight-forward, man made, observable and measurable. But we can still handle it. Less naturally, — we had to learn to tell the time as kids, — but we all got the hang of it, in the end, right? Right?
We All Experience time subjectively.
Researchers often call it psychological time
More Absorbed
Sometimes we are so absorbed by an activity, we get to a state of mind were we loose track of time.
Think of a painter working on a painting, or a surgeon conducting a very delicate procedure with the utmost care.
Or whenever you are totally engaged in an activity, weather lying on the beach or deep in focus preparing a masterful presentation for your boss.
More Aware
When we’re committed to a moment in the future, an appointment, an activity, we have to plan ahead.
Think of a project manager, weather in construction or managing the opening of a theater production. A single minute matters and they know it!
Whenever you are less engaged in this current moment and more engaged in planning for the future, your Time Awareness increases.
We’ve All Had Those Moments
Were we are so caught up in the moment.. Time almost stands still. It doesn’t of course.
But in a Time Absorbed state of mind, it almost seems like it, because the focus is narrowed down to experiencing more of the now.
An hour later, we’re surprised how “time has flown”.
Some people naturally get more Absorbed in tasks, and this can be great for precision, creativity, focus and deep thinking.
But they may miss some deadlines and appointments, or at least struggle to keep up, because of less Time-Awareness.
Every time you where rushing somewhere, for whatever reason, you were very Time Aware.
Think of the last time you were going to the airport to catch a flight and how often you checked the time on your watch or phone?
In modern times, you have to keep up, keep on top of things, stay focused, plan ahead.
Being Time-Aware, means you likely can make good plans and see them through, that you are time efficient and in today’s modern world, productive.
But if you’re always planning and managing the next step, never stopping to enjoy the moment, you might consider the need to be more Time-Absorbed.