Slowing down time is not technically possible, but it is possible to learn to slow down the perception we have of it and to appreciate the present moment. If you learn to step back, focus attention, and escape from the daily grind, you may be able to slow down your perception of time.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Focus Attention
Step 1. Focus on the small details
There are several theories as to why time seems to pass faster as we grow up, both from a subjective and a scientific point of view. The neural connections we make as children are almost always new, since each experience is new in its turn; it's as if every little detail matters. However, as we grow up and become familiar with the world around us, these little details are no longer relevant as they were in the past.
- To recover some of the awe of your youth, try to focus as much as possible on the little things. Take some time each day to appreciate flowers, watch a sunset, or engage in meditative activities, such as playing an instrument or gardening.
- Activate all the senses so that you are fully present, even if the event itself is insignificant. The simpler it is, the better. While sitting in the car in traffic, stay focused on the outside temperature, the physical sensation of the body in the seat, the smells inside and outside the car. You will realize what an experience it is to drive!
Step 2. Focus on the breath
Meditation that uses deep breathing is one of the easiest and most popular ways to train yourself to slow down and become more aware. Focus through basic breathing techniques to raise your awareness and slow down time.
- Sit in a comfortable chair, upright, maintaining correct posture and take a deep breath. Hold the air for a few moments, then exhale slowly. Repeat for at least ten times, keeping your eyes closed. Feel the oxygen entering the body, bringing nourishment and then escaping.
- During meditation, direct the air you breathe to different areas of the body. Feel it acting from within.
- After finishing the ten breaths, open your eyes and pay attention to the details around you. If you are outdoors, look at the sky and the horizon, listen to the sounds all around. If you are inside, look at the ceiling, walls, and furniture. Live in the present moment.
- If you don't like the idea of "meditating," just think in terms of breathing. It is not necessary to use a "spiritual" vocabulary for it to be effective.
Step 3. Try progressive muscle relaxation
It is a basic but proven technique to relax the body without having to do anything but focus attention on different areas, making them your focus. It is a way to relax and stay active at the same time; it can be a great way to focus on a simple task and slow down time.
- To begin, sit upright in a comfortable chair, focusing on your breath. So choose a part of the body, starting with the feet or the head, and contract a muscle. Try to take on the expression of someone who has just eaten something sour and hold it for 15 seconds, then relax the muscle and feel the tension melt away.
- Proceed to other areas, contracting the muscles, holding the tension and slowly releasing it, until you have worked all over your body. This is a great way to bring attention back to yourself, experience the present moment and relax.
Step 4. Sing, play an instrument or repeat a short text
Another technique widely used to transcend time is the monotonous repetition of a piece to concentrate and enter a kind of trance. It is a state that can be reached through singing, chanting or playing an instrument and is present in various traditions, from the Christian Pentecostal to that of the Hare Krishna.
- You can repeat a single phrase, a mantra or a passage. Try repeating the Hare Krishna mantra or chant Beyoncé over and over. "I'm a survivor" can become a very effective mantra.
- If you play an instrument, you may have already had the experience of losing track of time while playing a repetitive piece or series of chords. Keep repeating the same three notes on the piano, letting them resonate slowly, and listen to them while focusing on your breath. Time will slow down.
- If you don't play any instruments and aren't interested in singing or chanting, try relaxing ambient drone music. Some good songs that can make you feel a sense of bliss and slowing down time are "Disintegration Loops" by William Basinski, "Gymnosphere" by Jordan De La Sierra and music by Brian Eno.
Step 5. Just try to stay seated
If you ask a Zen monk what meditation is, he will tell you that it is simply sitting. If you ask what Zen is, the answer will probably be again: just sit still. The biggest secret to being able to meditate and slow down time is that there is no secret to achieving awareness. If you feel agitated and want to slow down, just sit down. Do nothing. Focus on being seated and let it all happen.
Try to do only one thing at a time. When you are sitting, you are simply sitting. If you are reading this, just do that. Don't read while having a snack, texting friends, and making weekend plans - just read
Method 2 of 2: Break the Routine
Step 1. Change the route you take to get to the usual places
Have you ever gotten into your car and automatically headed to work, while you wanted to go to the supermarket instead? Repetitive actions create connections in the brain that make it easier to engage the autopilot and make us perform the same actions without realizing what we are doing. These actions seem to last very little. So the secret is to learn how to rearrange your routine so that your brain experiences new things as often as possible.
Try to experiment with more roads and different ways to get to the places you need to go. Once you go by bicycle, another by car, yet another on foot. Find the best and worst way, try all the ones in between
Step 2. Do the same activity in different places
Some people like to work at the same desk every day, for the same number of hours, doing the same activities. Consistency makes time go by quickly, but if you want to slow it down, make an effort to do repetitive tasks in different places.
- Do not study every night in your room, at your desk, but different environment. Try out different rooms in the house, go to the library, or try studying outdoors in a park. Experience any place.
- If you like running, don't go running in the same place more than once or twice. Constantly explore new neighborhoods, new parks and new routes, so that it doesn't become a routine.
Step 3. Experience something that scares you
In a recent study, researchers asked people who had just taken a roller coaster ride to say how long it lasted (it was a few seconds fall from about 60 meters). Each of the respondents overestimated the amount of time by about 30%. When we experience moments that make us nervous or frighten us, time seems to lengthen considerably, although in reality this does not happen.
- Experience some simple "chair-jump" scares or pull out the usual horror movie if you want to get a little scared without getting involved in really risky or scary activities. Get scared in your living room safely.
- Don't engage in dangerous behavior, but take calculated risks and challenge yourself. If you are afraid of singing in front of an audience, join an Open Mic night with your guitar and perform: it will be the longest 15 minutes of your life.
Step 4. Explore
The world is a strange and beautiful place, whose boundaries we often tend to limit. We stay at home, go to school or work, go home and watch TV - it's a great way to make time fly. Instead, make an effort to explore - your neighborhood, your world and your head.
- How many different places can you buy a toothbrush, a sandwich or a pair of shoes in your neighborhood? What is the cheapest seat? And the strangest one? Find it out.
- Explore your own skills, as well as your neighborhood. Can you write a narrative poem? Challenge yourself. Can you play the banjo? Trial. Learning to do new things can help us to recover the typical mind of children able to work slowly: this is the joy of exploration.
Step 5. Do fewer things in a day
If you wish to slow down time, your goal should be to take on fewer tasks per day and to live each of them fully. If you want time to slow down, slow down yourself and the speed at which you enjoy things.
- Most people have two hundred or more hours of music on their computer or mobile phone, and the ability to make immediate use of it makes it difficult to slow down and fully experience those songs. If we don't like the first thirty seconds, we can skip them. Try replaying a song you like over and over instead of listening to an hour of radio.
- Even if you're doing a simple activity like reading a book, don't rush it and don't pile up a pile of books by your bed. Stay still for a month on a single volume or on a single poem for a year: live them completely.
Step 6. Stop doing multiple things at the same time
The more you divide your attention between different occupations, the harder it will be to stay focused on what you are doing and slow down your perception of time. Dedicate yourself fully to what you do until you get it done.
- We usually do multiple things at once to save time for other chores. We think that if we can make dinner, watch a television series and call our sister at the same time, we will save time. However, at the end of the day we will barely remember what we saw on TV, the dinner will be burned and we will not have paid attention to the telephone conversation.
- Instead, focus on doing the single thing you are doing right. Let it take you a long time; take it slow. As you prepare your food, pay attention to every single ingredient you use and do it correctly.
Step 7. Remind yourself of events daily and systematically
At the end of each day, do a little exercise: remember one thing you did and describe it in as much detail. This could be the look your friend gave you after a funny joke, a sign you saw in someone's garden, a particular cloud formation. Try to be specific and detailed.
After reviewing the current day, try the previous one. Is there anything you remember from yesterday that you didn't remember yesterday? Then move on to the previous week and month, ten years ago and your childhood. Try to progressively recall specific and detailed memories from different moments in your life
Advice
- This might seem like a guide to relaxation, but the point is that when we are relaxed (or when we are doing something particularly boring) time seems to pass more slowly. Just the opposite of what happens when you have fun: time seems to run faster, hence the saying "time flies when you have fun".
- Taking slow, deep breaths can help relax you.
