When Time Flies, Nothing Lands

“Time flies” is something we say often—usually with a sigh or a smile. But lately, I’ve started to question that phrase.
If time flew, did we miss it?

Because when time flies, it usually means nothing really stuck. No moments registered. No emotions anchored. Just… blur.

In contrast, I distinctly remember my Vipassana experience. Time slowed way down. One minute felt like one hour. Every sensation, every itch, every breath felt like a small chapter in a larger story. It wasn’t boring—it was intense, alive, unforgettable. That’s when it hit me:

🧠 The brain doesn’t keep time. It constructs it.

There’s no internal clock ticking in the background. Instead, time is built from what we notice (motion, novelty, memory, attention). The more aware you are, the longer time stretches. The more distracted you are, the faster it vanishes.

Why Time Feels Like It’s Slipping Through Your Fingers

Novelty = more timestamps.
Your brain loves newness. It pays attention. It creates detailed memories. That’s why childhood felt slower, everything was new. As adults, sameness kills time. It just evaporates.

Routine compresses time.
Same room, same tasks, same apps = fewer mental markers. Nothing stands out. The days blur. And suddenly it’s July.

Distraction deletes time.
Scrolling doesn’t just eat up your hours, it erases the feeling of being alive while they passed. It’s not boredom. It’s sedation.

Meditation taught me this.
You don’t need stimulation to feel alive. You need attention. Meditation felt long not because it was slow, but because I noticed every tiny thing. I wasn’t bored instead I was awake. It’s a skill we’re losing.

Boredom Isn’t the Enemy. It’s the Beginning.

We label slow time as boredom and try to kill it with noise, with screens, with speed. But here’s an inconvenient truth:

Creativity is born in boredom.
When your brain isn’t overstimulated, it begins to wander, connect, build. This is why creativity is rare—it belongs to those who can sit still. Who can feel the boredom and stay. Who don’t reach for the phone the second things go quiet.

Time stretches in those moments. And in that stretch, new things are born.

So How Do We Get Time Back?

You don’t need more hours. You need more awareness.

Change something—your route, your playlist, your scent
Feel something—texture, breath, sunlight, sound
Interrupt autopilot—pause before reacting
Let yourself be bored—don’t fill every gap
Engage deeply—flow compresses the moment but expands the memory

Golden Nugget:

Time doesn’t just pass. It fills—if we let it.

When time moves slow, we often mistake it for suffering. But sometimes, it’s a sign that you’re finally alive for it. Boredom might not be your enemy—it might be the gateway.

So next time you say “time flies,” pause and ask: Did I actually live it?

And if the answer is “not really”… you know what to do.