Am I the only one freaking out about how it’s November already?! Did we not JUST start the quarter? How are we already in Week 8? Where’d all the time go? For those struggling to adjust to the current fast-paced movement of life please know that I feel you and I’m here with you too.
I turn 20 on 11/18 and I have learned that time, certainly, does not stop. The world shutting down during the heat of the global pandemic essentially slowed down the pace of society, but now that school is fully in person, jobs are opening at full capacity desperately searching for employees, and in-person events are happening again, we don’t know how to fully adjust again and it’s causing stress to almost all of us. I don’t know about you, but I love being busy (doing things that I want to do) and having a full calendar is something that excites me; however, the daunting thought of me being in my 2nd year of college already catches me off guard. Time is flying.
Life does not exactly wait for us to catch up. Everyday we make the decision of how we want to spend the precious gift that is time and we have the power to choose what we want to do with what we have. That’s how I see life: we are granted opportunities due to fate, but have freedom in choosing what our next move forward is. The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho quotes: “Because time isn’t something that always proceeds at the same pace, it is we who determine how quickly time passes.” I believe we have more influence than we think when it comes to harnessing time, and it comes with practicing mindfulness and understanding different parts of yourself. Mindfulness is a concept I am still in the learning process for, but I can advocate that what I have learned so far has made a huge difference. Here are a few that help me slow down time:
- Refresh your daily routine.
I don’t mean to completely dismantle it, but add some new activities now and then. I like to try something for the first time, at least everyday, to give me a mental push for motivation. This includes doing work in a new place, switch it up! UCSD has some amazing study spots to visit other than the depressing, BUNKER that is the first two floors of Geisel Library (no hate, I love her).
This could also mean taking a new route to your classes, even if you have to leave 20-30 minutes earlier than usual. Think of it as an adventure, or as I like to call it: “THE NEXT LEG OF THE JOURNEY!” I walk to Torrey Pines every shift I have and usually take the same route there and back; but the other day I decided to walk back home through the woods and it turned out to be a surreal experience. The sun was setting through the trees, I was blasting music and just taking in the change of scenery. It was wonderful and that little difference, carried my serotonin levels a long way.
- Reclaim dead time
Have you checked your screen time recently? Every morning, I try to go the first 30 minutes without checking my phone. I highly advise to stay away from checking messages, Instagram and Tik Tok first thing in the morning, it can disrupt your motivation and suck you into the “5 more minutes” of mindless scrolling. Also, think of how much time you spend walking with your head down on your phone, or mindlessly scrolling through social media. Let’s learn to hang up and hang out. You wouldn’t believe how often I see people walking on Library Walk with their head down in their devices (guilty sometimes, if you ever see me walking with my face buried in my iPad, please CALL ME OUT). It doesn’t hurt to look up and acknowledge your surroundings. Smile to strangers, say hello to people you pass by and just take in the scenery and the experience. You notice a lot more when you look UP, who knows what surprises you may encounter.
These two lessons I’ve learned are not difficult to achieve. Acknowledge and appreciate the simple, little things, they have a greater impact than you may think. If you have learned more ways to slow down time, let me know! If not, I’m always here to help brainstorm. Happy Week 8!