Time doesn't really fly when you're having fun

The Novelty Effect and how to slow down time

I started my Substack back in January, thinking I’d publish an essay every week—that would put me at, what, twenty? I’ve shared seven. But hey, life gets busy, I become preoccupied with a million other things, and time flies by before I can convince myself to write up another essay for the week.

It seems as though the older I get, the faster time flies–each year coming and going before I know it. As a kid, time moved so slow. Summer lasted forever, and the school year lasted even longer. Each day was greeted with endless possibilities, a million new things to see and to learn. We could chalk it up to just having a skewed perception of time as children. But I feel like there is more to it—why time feels faster now, and what we can do to slow it down.

Our perception of time is a lot more subjective than one might think. Of course, we know time moves one second at a time, a steady beat to which life cycles run their course, regardless of what we do or think or want. But as I’ve just discussed, it is undeniable that time feels faster and slower at times. Because of our complex nature, our ability to feel emotion and build connections through the actions of our human lives, we do not feel and remember time objectively, one month to the next, one season to another. It is entirely subjective, stemming from our experiences, the memories we choose to remember more than others, the emotions attached to those memories. I do not recall 2025 as a sequence of one month after another, but as a timeline of the things I did and how happy I was in certain moments. That timeline is undoubtedly skewed subjectively, definitely inaccurate.

So, how does this help us understand time and how to slow it down? Well, it relates to a concept called The Novelty Effect, which argues that new and unusual experiences slow down our perspective of time. Experiencing novelty heightens our attention, forces our brain to process new inputs, and our bodies to pay attention to sensory details. You may have heard before that a child’s brain is like a sponge. Their brain and body are constantly in this state, taking in new sights and sounds all the time, and tying memories to them. But as we get older and our experiences become less and less novel, our brains compress our memories of more familiar and repetitive events.

Just think about it. If you reflect back on a month in which you did nothing but go to work every day, figure out the same meals you always eat, wake up and go to sleep at the exact same time—stuck to one routine constantly—it would just feel like one big blur. On the other hand, when remembering that pottery class you tried out three weeks ago, that walk in the park catching up with an old friend later that week, volunteering a few days ago, and any other unusual activities, you realize how much you’ve done over a period of time. Suddenly, the month doesn’t feel so quick—that pottery class felt like so long ago, and you’ve experienced so many new things since then.

Experiencing new things causes a spike in interest, motivation, and excitement, which in turn slows down our perception of time. We take in less, retain less, when we remain at our baseline level of interest and excitement in a given scenario; we do not create memories, so, subjectively, time goes quickly. The boring day is over before we know it. And then the boring week. And then it’s New Year’s again.

I think our phones also cause time to fly faster than it should. I’m sure everyone reading this has experienced at least once that moment where you realize you’ve doomscrolled for two hours and you can’t even recall half the videos you watched on your phone. Access to such a plethora of ideas and topics is both a blessing and a curse. All too often, we are trapped in our devices; we stop consciously choosing to go out and change our routine or experience out-of-the-ordinary activities.

So, my advice for you to slow down time; drop the routine—at least a little bit. Of course, you have your obligations, but leave a little gray area for spontaneous activities. If this doesn’t sound like you, then pencil in a few things here and there that you’ve never done before, or haven’t done in a while. Schedule an experience that will excite your brain and create new, fond memories. Next, drop the phone. Reduce your screentime when you can. All those videos you saved to try later: do them! Write in a journal, read a book, go for a walk outside and count all the different types of bugs you see. Or if you can’t get that phone out of your hand, call an old friend and catch up. Make plans to do something fun.

I’m going to shamelessly plug my business here because I think it relates to the overall theme. I run a mail club, The Monty Mail Club, where members receive cute letters every month containing items of my creation: stickers, bookmarks, art prints, journal prompts, puzzles, and more! It is the perfect way to add a little more cozy to your life. I know you love it when you’re expecting something in the mail just for you, and this mail club is just for you. You can check out my profiles on instagram or tiktok @montymailclub and view purchase options on www.themontymail.club.

At any rate, I hope you found The Novelty Effect to be as interesting as I did. As someone who worries about how fast time flies and all the things I want to experience, any effort I can take to slow down time is worth it. I think it’s important to remember how powerful our subconscious view of things can be, how much weight it has on the passage of our life. Or maybe none of it matters—time passes regardless. Anyway, what do I know? I am still learning.

Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed and would like to support my work, consider buying me a coffee! And be sure to check out my mail club!