[Question] At 22 years old, how do I stop life flying by so fast?

[drpeppehr]

I'm a 22 year old college student, graduating in the fall. I got hired to work an internship this summer in IT, a basic 8am-5pm IT job. I'm content with everything going on in my life, however, I feel like the days have just been flying by and I get a slight negative feeling when I look back and think, "damn, it's already July 1st? Feels like June 1st was yesterday".

I try to build good habits like working out, following a diet, reading everyday, working on business ideas everyday, meditating every day, etc. But even with these habits in place it still feels like my time is short and I'm not using my time wisely at all. From the 8 hours a day I spend at work, I probably have 5-6 hours of downtime.

Can anyone help me with some advice on this? I really don't want my summer to speed past me, feeling like I did nothing good.

 

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[Rabby]

Do some good things and write down what you do. When you look at the journal of the summer and it has all those entries in it, you'll feel the sense of time and accomplishment.

 

[Deleted50669]

Have some social and personal goals outside of work. That's what adds meaning to life, ultimately. You remember the days you had a new experience or reached a new achievement, that's what keeps every day from seeming like the last.

 

[NVious]

Use that time to go over book summaries and read posts on here from people you like.

Life going by fast is relative, just live as best as you can, some people might feel it go by slow but their lives might be horrendous.

Keep getting better and you'll make it bro!

 

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[Tourmaline]

What would feel like using your time wisely?

 

[Fid]

There are two ways I am aware of.

1. Break the routine – do new things. When you were a kid, life was full of new stuff. For a newborn, everything is new – colors, shapes, eating, walking, playing. Once you grow up, everything gets repeatable. Break the routine, start new hobbies, go to new places, meet new people.

2. Work on your awareness (mindfulness). Focus on here and now. Kids can watch ants walking around for hours. Adults daydream a lot thinking about the past or the future.

meditating every day

This should help a lot with mindfulness!

 

[reedracer]

This book really wowed me about time and time perception. I truly recommend it to anyone. A very quick read and adds light years to your life
Slipstream Time Hacking: How to Cheat Time, Live More, And Enhance Happiness
Benjamin P. Hardy

Amazon.com: Slipstream Time Hacking: How to Cheat Time, Live More, And Enhance Happiness eBook : Hardy, Benjamin P.: Kindle Store

Slipstream Time Hacking: How to Cheat Time, Live More, And Enhance Happiness - Kindle edition by Hardy, Benjamin P.. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Slipstream Time Hacking: How to...

amzn.to

 

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[spreng]

I am right there with you man. 24 and just watching time fly by every day without really accomplishing much.

 

[Greg Behnke]

In the not so distant future, summers will be like other seasons. At your age, I would be exploring what you truly want to do with your life and set some short, medium, and long term goals. I recently reviewed some of the goals I wrote down in college 15 years ago and it was eye-opening to see that about 90% of them have happened.

 

[Brian Suh]

I'm a 22 year old college student, graduating in the fall. I got hired to work an internship this summer in IT, a basic 8am-5pm IT job. I'm content with everything going on in my life, however, I feel like the days have just been flying by and I get a slight negative feeling when I look back and think, "damn, it's already July 1st? Feels like June 1st was yesterday".

I try to build good habits like working out, following a diet, reading everyday, working on business ideas everyday, meditating every day, etc. But even with these habits in place it still feels like my time is short and I'm not using my time wisely at all. From the 8 hours a day I spend at work, I probably have 5-6 hours of downtime.

Can anyone help me with some advice on this? I really don't want my summer to speed past me, feeling like I did nothing good.

Sounds like life sucks for you. Everyone’s life speeds up as time goes on. Will your life be like a meteor with sparks or a piece of poop being dragged on the sidewalk? Take risks and enjoy yourself. Life is short so make the most of it

 

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[Roli]

But even with these habits in place it still feels like my time is short and I'm not using my time wisely at all. From the 8 hours a day I spend at work, I probably have 5-6 hours of downtime.

I really don't want my summer to speed past me, feeling like I did nothing good.

There are a couple of things at work here, how you deal with them is up to you.

The first thing is that at 22 you were a child not so long ago, 15 is not such a distant memory to you, when time seemed to stretch out to infinity. I remember being 10 and not even being able to imagine what it would be like at 16. Six years seemed like it would never pass!

I'm sure you have had similar feelings, and quite simply put, your perception of time has changed and therefore events seem to whizz by a lot quicker. This effect will wear off in a few years.

The second thing that could possibly have an influence on your general psyche, is social media. Seeing others like you, doing so well makes you think that you are not doing enough. Even dropping into this forum and reading a post about a 17 year old who is already on his/her way to the fastlane may give you feelings of anxiety.

It's pretty easy to deal with that, just don't go on these sites so much. Also make sure you take them off your phone as that is the fastest way to let them run your life. When you visit this forum, only go to threads that are about subjects that you are interested in finding out more about. Don't read the motivational success stories until you have chosen your path. Also remember that your path may change, so don't worry about choosing the right one straight away.

Lastly you are aware of something else other than burning your life away at a 9-5 job, and therefore you are getting anxious that you will do just that and burn all your time up.

Get over this by researching what you want to do to get you out of your 9-5. Namely find some online or real world courses and enrol in them. Learn new skills, and how to apply them which will give you a sense of moving towards a goal.

Ultimately you will look back on this time in 20 years and think to yourself "Wow, I had loads of time then, I should have enjoyed it a bit more!"

 

[drpeppehr]

There are a couple of things at work here, how you deal with them is up to you.

The first thing is that at 22 you were a child not so long ago, 15 is not such a distant memory to you, when time seemed to stretch out to infinity. I remember being 10 and not even being able to imagine what it would be like at 16. Six years seemed like it would never pass!

I'm sure you have had similar feelings, and quite simply put, your perception of time has changed and therefore events seem to whizz by a lot quicker. This effect will wear off in a few years.

The second thing that could possibly have an influence on your general psyche, is social media. Seeing others like you, doing so well makes you think that you are not doing enough. Even dropping into this forum and reading a post about a 17 year old who is already on his/her way to the fastlane may give you feelings of anxiety.

It's pretty easy to deal with that, just don't go on these sites so much. Also make sure you take them off your phone as that is the fastest way to let them run your life. When you visit this forum, only go to threads that are about subjects that you are interested in finding out more about. Don't read the motivational success stories until you have chosen your path. Also remember that your path may change, so don't worry about choosing the right one straight away.

Lastly you are aware of something else other than burning your life away at a 9-5 job, and therefore you are getting anxious that you will do just that and burn all your time up.

Get over this by researching what you want to do to get you out of your 9-5. Namely find some online or real world courses and enrol in them. Learn new skills, and how to apply them which will give you a sense of moving towards a goal.

Ultimately you will look back on this time in 20 years and think to yourself "Wow, I had loads of time then, I should have enjoyed it a bit more!"

That's exactly how it felt at 15. You're right. I also use social media a lot so you're very right about that as well.

Thank you for listening to my full post and thank you for the good advice.

 

[DiamondDog]

You can't stop life from flying by so fast but you can go faster than life.

Start taking action and build something meaningful.

 

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[Ejaylc]

I'm a 22 year old college student, graduating in the fall. I got hired to work an internship this summer in IT, a basic 8am-5pm IT job. I'm content with everything going on in my life, however, I feel like the days have just been flying by and I get a slight negative feeling when I look back and think, "damn, it's already July 1st? Feels like June 1st was yesterday".

I try to build good habits like working out, following a diet, reading everyday, working on business ideas everyday, meditating every day, etc. But even with these habits in place it still feels like my time is short and I'm not using my time wisely at all. From the 8 hours a day I spend at work, I probably have 5-6 hours of downtime.

Can anyone help me with some advice on this? I really don't want my summer to speed past me, feeling like I did nothing good.

I think you're just at a point in your life where you're staying busy which is a good thing, but at a point you need to prioritize what kind of life you want and build around that. In time your goals might change and you'll focus where it's important to allocate time.

A big chunk of your time goes to work and I would say learn every single you can about the industry you're in. I used to work in IT and I would sell to governments and I soaked up all the information from where the manufacturers were, which products were hot on the market, all the way down to how the systems worked behind the scenes and where things can be improved.

As far as exercise goes I see a lot of guys spend to much time at the gym. Now I'm not the fittest guy on the planet but in general 45 mins to an hour is fine and even better if the gym is close to you. Its all about the consistently of going.

You're young and you have the stamina to keep hustling for hours on end so take advantage of that.

There's an article by Marc Andreessen where he doesn't keep a schedule but a word document and he prioritizes things that need to be done in 3 segments. For example, a to do list, watch list, and a later list. If you google the article you can find it for sure. It might work for you or it might not but you can experiment with different systems that work for others also.

Hope that helps a bit.

 

[Matt Hunt]

Get used to it! It only speeds up as you go along! I'm 37 and 22 feels like it was yesterday!

 

[Ocean Man]

This book really wowed me about time and time perception. I truly recommend it to anyone. A very quick read and adds light years to your life
Slipstream Time Hacking: How to Cheat Time, Live More, And Enhance Happiness
Benjamin P. Hardy

Amazon.com: Slipstream Time Hacking: How to Cheat Time, Live More, And Enhance Happiness eBook : Hardy, Benjamin P.: Kindle Store

Slipstream Time Hacking: How to Cheat Time, Live More, And Enhance Happiness - Kindle edition by Hardy, Benjamin P.. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Slipstream Time Hacking: How to...

amzn.to

Reed, thank you for recommending this book! I never knew about it and started reading it last night. I read up to page 30 last night, and for those wondering... It's pulling, thought-provoking, and I highly recommend it.

 

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