Sep 7, 2026 · 56 min
Novelty may be the antidote to fast-moving time
455. Why does time start flying in our 20s?
The episode reframes time flying in adulthood as a problem of memory and attention, then offers concrete ways to make ordinary days more memorable.
- 1Measured time stays constant, but memory, novelty, routines, and attention reshape how quickly life feels to pass.
- 2Changing routes, trying unfamiliar activities, and documenting ordinary moments can make weeks feel fuller in retrospect.
- 3Gratitude turns awareness of life’s finitude into a reason to notice and value each additional day.
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Spake describes how recording one second from each day created a personal documentary and changed her appreciation of ordinary moments.
The brief
Gemma Spake examines the gap between measured time and lived time, asking why adulthood can feel as though it accelerates even while clocks remain unchanged.
The episode links fast-moving time to routines, novelty, memory, eye movements, social media, and the disrupted temporal experience of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Its practical argument is simple: changing routes, visiting unfamiliar places, and trying new activities can give ordinary weeks more memorable shape.
Spake’s reflection on diaries, scrapbooks, and recording one second each day shows how preserving mundane moments can turn the past into a richer personal documentary.
The closing turn is sobering rather than sentimental: remembering people who died at her age becomes a way to cultivate gratitude for every additional day.