Time flies when you’re having fun, but why not at work?

You could party for hours all night until the sun comes up without realising it, but getting through your work day can be painful beyond belief. Why does one hour of fun seem to be so much shorter than one hour of work?

Changes in your perception of time is likely a very complex phenomenon and the unfortunate reality is that you probably already know the majority of what any scientist would be able to tell you.

John Herman from Gizmodo writes:

“It’s easy to study people’s perception of time, and lots of people have. And they’ve found all kinds of weird stuff:

• Time passes more slowly to people who are consciously keeping track of it than to people who aren’t. (The study informed half its participants that they’d be asked about the length of the experiment, but not the other.)

• Body temperature can affect perception of time. (It passes slower when you’re cold.)

• Pulse rate does not affect perception of time.

• Drugs can do all kinds of terrifying/awesome things to the perception of time. (c.f. Our college years.)

• Certain health conditions can do the same. (An epileptic seizure, for example, can feel as though its lasted a very long time, even if it was over in a matter of seconds.)”

Although the “why” may not be understood, we do know that when you are enjoying an activity, time seems to disappear. But staying completely focused on a task can also have a very similar effect whether you are having fun or not. On the other hand, activities that have been habitualised or are considered boring can feel as though they drag on forever. If you’re finding your work days are excruciatingly long, you might want to try finding new challenges and activities that really spark your interest.