Do Something New!
Question: Why do the years seem to fly by faster as an adult?
Answer: Your life is too routine!
When you do new or novel things, your brain takes more “footage” of the experience to store in your memory. When you think back on that period, there are more reels to unspool, which makes it feel like a longer span of time. When you’re young, and everything is new and fresh to you, years seem to stretch so far. When you do the same old things over and over again as an adult, your brain sees no reason to take much memory footage of what’s going on – thus the passing of time seems much shorter and quicker.
Keep your life from speeding past by injecting more novelty into your life!
Use today to do something new, visit a new place, or meet new people.
The key is to do things that make you feel like you are really doing something, rather than more passive activities like watching a new movie or reading a new book.
Here are some ideas to get you started (but the possibilities are limitless!):
• Drive a different route to work
• Get to work a different way (bus, walk, bike)
• Eat your lunch in a new location
• Eat dinner at a new restaurant
• Make a new recipe
• Talk to a new person
• Walk through a part of town you’ve never visited
• Visit a new park
• Go running on a different trail
• Visit a new museum/historical site
• Try a new workout
• Try any kind of new activity