“Time is an illusion.” —Albert Einstein
“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.” — Michael Altshuler
You know these people. Maybe you are these people. Always sighing, “I just don’t have enough time,” as though the universe cruelly issued everyone else a Costco-sized box of hours and left you with a travel-sized mini-pack.
Here’s the punchline: we all get the same 24 hours. Taylor Swift, the Dalai Lama, your neighbor who raises show chickens—same clock. The difference isn’t quantity, it’s perception. Some folks make a day feel like a feast; others make it feel like a microwaved burrito scarfed in the car.
So how do you expand time—without inventing a flux capacitor, like Back To the Future's Doc Brown?
Time: The Illusion You Didn’t Know About
Here’s where it gets weird. I first stumbled onto quantum science in the 1980s when I read Nigel Calder’s Einstein’s Universe. The big takeaway was that time is not the rigid, one-size-fits-all metronome we think it is. It’s bendy. Stretchy. Curiously personal, depending on biology, context, and perception. As Einstein put it, time is relative.
Your body, by the way, already knows this.
Fast-forward a few years when my interest in the quantum world landed me in Princeton, where I studied with Richard Fenn, author of Time Exposure. Fenn argued that modern life slices our experience of time into shards—deadlines, to-do lists, productivity hacks—resulting in a culture of constant rushing to sync our lives with clocks. But, in the process, we get out of sync with ourselves.
Your body knows this, too.
Clock v. Body
Most of us live by “clock time”: the standardized hours, minutes, and calendar invites/alerts that dictate our days. Your phone says it’s 2 p.m., therefore you’re supposed to be in a meeting about budgets, or widgets, or whatever.
Meanwhile, your body is on “biological time,” which is way less rigid. It’s governed by circadian rhythms (your daily sleep/wake cycle), ultradian rhythms (shorter 90–120 minute cycles of focus and rest), plus hormones, neurotransmitters, and whether you had that third cup of coffee you swore you didn’t need.
So when you drag yourself into that 2 p.m. budget meeting, your calendar may be yelling, “go time!” but your body might be whispering, “nap time.” One system screams “engage!” The other pleads “rest.” That’s friction. That’s the grind most of us feel every day.
Relativity at Your Desk
Einstein showed us time is relative. Fenn showed us how culture commands and shapes our time. But you don’t need a time machine to experience relativity and take back control.
Your mind already knows that an hour lost in creative flow feels like five minutes; and five minutes stuck in traffic can feel like an hour.
Your body already knows that a 15-minute nap can supercharge your brain more than that extra cup of coffee; and a 10-minute walk outdoors can restore focus better than an hour of inbox triage.
Time stretches or contracts based on biology, context, and perception. Your choices matter to all three.
Toward a More Time-Spacious Life
Here are some common-sense pointers to help expand your perception of time:
1. Quit Multitasking (It’s Just “Doing Everything Badly at Once”)
Your brain isn’t juggling so much as dropping balls at a higher speed. Focusing on one thing slows the sense of time and makes you feel less like a malfunctioning robot.
2. Install a Pause Button
Take a breath before answering an email, sipping coffee, or replying to that “urgent” message. Pauses act like the scenic overlooks of life. Nobody remembers the freeway blur, but everyone remembers the pull-offs.
3. Play With Novelty
Your brain notices new things—so new experiences get filed as “more time lived.” That’s why vacations feel long and Tuesdays vanish. Want longer days? Change up your walk, try a new recipe, or talk to someone outside your bubble.
4. Ritual > Routine
Bathing = routine. Lighting a candle while you do it and pretending you’re in a spa commercial = ritual. Small upgrades turn clock time into story time.
5. Stretch (Literally)
Your body’s tension says “hurry!” Your nervous system believes it. Stretch for two minutes and you’re not just loosening hamstrings—you’re expanding time perception. You’re basically a temporal yoga wizard.
6. Limit Digital Clutter
Scrolling devours time unnoticed. Reducing digital noise makes more space for presence, which makes time feel slower and more yours.
7. Prioritize Depth Over Breadth
Instead of cramming in more experiences, go deeper with fewer: one real conversation instead of five texts, one afternoon in nature instead of five rushed errands. Spaciousness comes from depth.
8. End the Day With Reflection
Journaling, gratitude lists, or even replaying the day in your mind expands your sense of lived time. You don’t just use time—you metabolize it.
Last Thoughts
You don’t need more hours; you need more presence. Time feels scarce because attention is scattered. Reclaim your attention, listen to your body, and suddenly life is less “where did the day go?” and more “who knew an afternoon could feel like a mini-vacation?”
And if all else fails, just tell people you’re “time rich.” They’ll either ask your secret—or assume you bought a new car.😉
REFLECT:
Protect your peaks.
Figure out when you’re naturally sharpest and save that time for work that actually matters.
Respect your troughs.
Instead of grinding through fatigue, use those energy dips for rest, walks, or even just staring out a window.
Build elasticity.
Leave white space in your schedule. This isn’t slacking—it’s giving time a chance to breathe and expand.
Do less, better.
Prioritize depth over volume. A day with three meaningful tasks feels more expansive than one crammed with 15 half-finished ones.
