From John Robb's Weblog: Most people perceive time moving faster as they get older. Time perception has everything to do with habit accumulation. Want to slow time? Change or think through all your daily habits (mind and body). You would be surprised at how excruciating slow the day seems.
I was just thinking something along these lines this morning. Time is absolutely flying for me these days. For me I think it's urgency that makes time speed up. I have way too many things to do. The day feels small. Not nearly enough hours to get everything done. As I go to bed I think through all of the things that I didn't do. I wake up the next day with a burst of adrenaline.
Impending doom also speeds up time. A lawsuit. A deadline at work. Natural death. These all make you want to hold back time, which ironically speeds it up. It's kind of a "grass is always greener" thing.
And pain slows down time. Try this: watch tv for 30 minutes. Write down how quickly you think that 30 minutes went. Now get onto a treadmill and increase the speed until your heart rate is at (200 - Your Age) beats per minute. Hold that for 30 minutes. How'd time feel? Sloooooooooow.
Even more relevant to me: the plyometrics plank exercise that Keith has us do. That minute goes so slowly. When he says "30 seconds to go" I psychologically crack because I thought it was closer to the end. It's a slow 30 seconds. But, if I watch my timepiece I get better updates and understand my time status better, which helps my perception of time and my overall performance.
John's right that you can change your thought processes to change your perception of time. I'm sure there's research out there dealing with urgency-of-task vs. percieved time. Of course, it's easier said than done.
Post-Ironman Melancholy