We tend to think of time as a linear experience, with up until now in the past and, other than this fleeting moment, the rest is in the future. This conceptualisation of time feels as if it makes logical sense - yet it fails to explain the psychological concepts of time, such as how time can feel as if it's whizzed by, and at other times drags painfully slowly.
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Claudia Hammond is the author of Time Warped: Unlocking The Secrets Of Time Perception. She discusses time as an experience we bring our minds and in particular, our memories, to. We can recall the past, but autobiographical memories aren't video recordings dug from the archives, but rather reconstructions of events, changed slightly each time we recall it and file it away again.
Our perception of time is mostly psychological. Yet, when we feel as if time is rushing by, and we want to slow it down, it's useful to understand that the experience of time rushing comes from laying down lots of memories and therefore is what comes from living a full life, with not too much routine. The greatest impact we can have on this experience is to be bored or depressed or lonely, which again aren't the desired state, no matter how slow it makes the passage of time. Hammond says, "if you can create a life which feels both novel and entertaining in the present, the weeks and years will feel long in retrospect. Even varying your route to work can make a difference. The more memories you can create for yourself in everyday life, the longer your life will feel when you look back".
