Callender and Edney, in their book “Introducing Time,” write: “In addition to the physical time measured by various clocks, there is also psychological time” (2004, p. 8). The problem is: there is no “physical time” since time is not a physical stimulus. Physically speaking, there is nothing to measure. Clocks don’t measure – they just tick. A thermometer measures temperature. A tire gauge measures pressure. But what does a clock measure?! Clock is the only “device” that measures nothing. Nothing, except for self-imposed pressure… All time is psychological. All time is information processing. The following are 7 ways for you to start fine-tuning your time perception.
See related article “Cultivating a Healthy Relationship with Time”
Experiment with Time Perception
Try this several times. Note the time on a piece of paper. Then close your eyes and take ten mindful breaths. Before you re-open your eyes, make a guess as to how long it has been since you started with this breath-focused meditation. Open your eyes and compare your time estimate with the actual amount of time that has elapsed. Try this again, but this time go for twenty meditative breaths. Once again consult your time estimates. My prediction is that you will overestimate the amount of time you are breathing. But don’t just take my word for it—play with this yourself.
Avoid Time Terrorism
Avoid “time’s running out” urgency ads. As soon as you hear urgent-sounding advertising, turn it off. Urgency makes for impulse consumer decision making. Advertisers count on that. This is below-the-belt “time terrorism.” We feel busy enough as it is. Recognize that you’ve got all the time in the world. After all, in this entire world, right now there is just this now—that’s all the time that there is. And all of this now is yours! So kill the TV and turn off the radio. Do not allow your time to be commercialized.
Tag the Moment
Whenever you stumble upon an auspicious event, take a breath to savor the moment. Pause and say to yourself or to your companion, “I want to remember this!” Look around, soak it in. Take your time. It’s your moment in time: experience it. Time-stamp the moment.
Anchor Yourself in the Present
To become more present when doing an otherwise mindless activity, interrupt the usual patterns. For example, try eating with your non-dominant hand. Notice how this minor manipulation suddenly anchors you in the present. Incorporate pattern interruption into all kinds of otherwise mindless routines to leverage more mindfulness. Vacuum with a sombrero on. Do bills with a quill pen. Switch up the routine and turn on the awareness to anchor yourself in the present moment. Challenge yourself to do something wild, out of the ordinary, atypical. Create a Kodak moment. Add a page a day to your scrapbook of time.
Watch a Candle Flame
Watching fire is a primordial pastime. Fire was the first TV: people sat around in a circle and gazed at the dance of the flames. Light a candle and focus on the flame. Burn up a few minutes of time to leverage timelessness.
Hyper-focus On Demand
Turn on your focusing superpowers. Let’s say it’s time to pay the monthly bills. Choose a time when and a place where you won’t be interrupted. Put everything else on hold. Get the white-noise headphones on. Clean off the desk completely. Put timekeeping devices out of sight. Get your supplies ready so that you don’t have to stop to look for a pen or a postage stamp. Notify your significant others that you are in “radio silence,” that you are incommunicado, that you are going dark. Think: “Right now, there is nothing but this. I have made time for this, and right now, nothing else matters. I will not resurface until I am done.” Dive in! Lose track of time.
Cool It
If you’re feeling frenetic, pop out of the time race.
Make yourself a cup of tea and let it cool all the way to lukewarm. Give yourself the permission to do absolutely nothing. Now and then, mindfully, check the temperature of the tea with a careful sip. Cool off your time engine. Or watch the pot boil—literally. Once again, give yourself a permission to do absolutely nothing. Notice the time stop. Find an eternity in the ordinary. How long it takes will depend on the metal of the pot, the amount of water, the intensity of the heat, and the original temperature of the water. My guess? On average this downtime activity will buy you about four or five minutes.
Related Posts
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
From Psych Central's Social Media Stream:
PsychCentral (November 23, 2009)
“Time-stamp the moment” — perfect wording for this concept! I like.
Last reviewed: 23 Nov 2009
Copyright © 1992-2010 Psych Central. All rights reserved.
Site last updated: 19 Mar 2010
|
