Summer. Stretch it.

“…if you’ve experienced enough summers, you know how quickly the season can come and go: Just blink and it will be autumn. Is there some way to prolong the lazy days, to stretch summer out? Perhaps—in the mind at least…We all know the dark side of time passing slowly. A terrified person in a life-or-death situation commonly reports that the whole experience felt as if it took place in slow motion. Time also creeps along…if you are made to believe that a whole room full of strangers don’t like you. A 20-minute wait on a windy railway platform seems endless, but the same 20 minutes spent grabbing a sandwich for lunch with a friend feels gone in an instant.  Fortunately, psychological research also points to techniques that allow us to extend happier feelings, including our enjoyment of the blossoms, sunshine and long evenings of summer.”  Here’s excerpts on 3 mind tricks on how to accomplish this:

Seize moments for pleasure:…we consistently overestimate the amount of spare time that we will have in the future…don’t assume that there is plenty of time later for trips to the beach and sunny picnics. Do them as soon as you get the chance.

Harness the holiday paradox: …Let’s say you go on a vacation filled with novel experiences—getting used to a hotel room or vacation home, visiting museums, trying new foods, going kayaking or hiking. In no time, you discover that you are halfway through the vacation and need to start thinking about going home. It has all flashed by in an instant.  But once back home, preparing to go to work again, it suddenly feels as though you have been away for ages…So how to put the holiday paradox to work? Don’t go to the same place for a picnic more than once, or those memories will merge into one. Choose a different place each time and invite new people. Go and explore places you’ve never been to before, and try new activities. Even driving a different route will make the time feel longer.

Vary your workday routine: If you live in a city, get off the bus one stop early or park a little farther away from the office. Then, as you walk the rest of the way, look out for details you have never noticed before. Make a point, perhaps, of looking up at the top of buildings or walk one street over from the path you usually take.  With these tricks of perception, your memories of summer will be more varied and vivid. And by autumn, when the nights start to draw in, you will look back to find that the summer feels longer too.

~ Claudia Hammond, Mind Tricks for a Lasting Summer (wsj.com)

Sources:

• Quote: WSJ.com – Mind Tricks for a Lasting Summer, Claudia Hammond.  Hammond is the author of “Time Warped: Unlocking the Mysteries of Time Perception.  She is a writer, broadcaster, and psychology lecturer. She is the voice of psychology on BBC Radio 4 where she is the host of All in the Mind and Mind Changers.  The theme of her book: “Why does life seem to speed up as we get older? Why does the clock in your head move at a different speed from the one on the wall? Why is it almost impossible to go a whole day without checking your watch? Is it possible to retrain our brains and improve our relationship with it?  In Time Warped, Claudia Hammond offers insight into how to manage our time more efficiently, how to speed time up and slow it down at will, how to plan for the future with more accuracy, and she teaches how to use the warping of time to our own benefit.  Drawing on the latest research from the fields of psychology, neuroscience, and biology, writer and broadcaster Claudia Hammond explores the mysteries of our perception of time in her book Time Warped.” (Source: Amazon)
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