How COVID-19 is Changing Our Perception of Time

Does anyone else feel as though days move underwater while weeks and months move at lightning speed? Since the pandemic began, most people’s lives have come to a seemingly repeated monotone day. Perception of time has begun to appear confusing or blurry to many, one of the various strange and unexpected side effects from the crisis. While perceiving time must have been a more prevalent issue in the peak of lockdown, the brains of many haven’t healed, and most will have work to do and habits to build to return to a regular state of mind. 

This unique problem might feel like the experience of just a few, but an online survey out of the UK published in the journal PLOS ONE found that more than 80% of the 604 participants experienced changes to their perception of time during the coronavirus pandemic. The change in perception of time caught many by surprise. 

What is missing from everyone’s COVID-19 experience is the lack of external cues: the commute to work or school, the specific time of a lunch break, or certain exterior commitments that would occur on specific days. Even bigger events, like the beginning of the school year or the world series, start a timer in the mind, recording how much time passes in comparison to them. The lack of routine and differences from day to day have caused the minds of many to slow down short increments of time, letting days melt into each other. Looking back to reflect, the beginning of lockdown in the U.S doesn’t feel like nine months ago. An anthropologist, Jane Guyer, says “enforced presentism” (a feeling of being stuck in the present, combined with the inability to plan ahead) is to blame for a tainted perspective of time. The lack of ability to see the future as different from the present is causing people to spiral into melting days which are then remembered as a racing blur. 

This problem may seem impossible to solve, but there are tricks to use right now that can help ease the blurring effect of the pandemic on time. It may feel like time won’t return to normal until the rest of the world does, with social interaction and unboarded shops open for business. However, it is proven that instilling a somewhat strict routine into your day can help with creating a feeling of slower, more distinguished, and more memorable time. Creating time markers can help, as said in an article about perception of time. It states, “Anyone who’s regularly worked from home knows, it’s also important to keep to routines, not just to a schedule. If you wore earrings every day to the office, put them on now; mark the time when you stop working with a ritual, whether it’s going for a walk, calling friends or having a glass of wine before dinner. By creating that routine and linking it to your old one, you’re telling your brain that your workday is starting and when it is ending.” By focusing on distinct details of the day, retraining the brain can help with a feeling of organization and purpose.

Taking care of yourself in a global pandemic is of utmost importance. The efficiency of everything depends solely on how you feel, as well as how everyone else feels. Being present and feeling good in a crisis can be extremely difficult, but with the right habits and practice, your days can feel as they did before the pandemic struck. 

Bibliography- 

Braaten, associate professor of psychology, Harvard Medical School, Ellen. “The COVID-19 Pandemic's Restrictions Disrupted Everyone's Sense of Time. Here's How to Cope.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 19 Sept. 2020, www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/covid-19-pandemic-s-restrictions-disrupted-everyone-s-sense-time-ncna1240477

Ringel, Felix Ringel. “Coronavirus: How the Pandemic Has Changed Our Perception of Time.” Durham University, 29 May 2020, www.dur.ac.uk/research/news/item/?itemno=41829

Sara Lindberg, M.Ed. “Perception of Time Has Shifted During COVID-19, New Survey Reports.” Verywell Mind, 24 Aug. 2020, www.verywellmind.com/why-time-is-passing-so-strangely-during-covid-5075438