My Life Feels Like It’s Speeding Up So I Try to Slow It Down

Time feels like it passes so quickly.

It feels like just yesterday I was still a child. Now I already have children of my own. I just wake up in the morning. Suddenly, it’s already night.

Then I say to those close to me: “Time flies, huh?”

Almost everyone feels that way. It feels as if life has been sped up. As if hours have been cut.

Yet since the beginning of the creation of the earth, time is still time. It has never changed. The sun and the moon still rise and set as usual.

One thing I often deny: time doesn’t change, the way I live it does.

Time Flows to Holes

I imagine time like flowing water. And my life is the container that holds it.

Some lives are able to become large containers that hold the flow calmly. But some other lives only become small containers, even leaking.

The problem is, leaking containers with small holes are rarely visible. It’s precisely these small holes that cause time to spill everywhere.

Small things are rarely considered big problems. I tend to see them as normal and still forgivable. Yet even a little water coming out of a small hole, added to many other holes, eventually becomes a huge waste.

The Three Leaks in My Life

Leak #1: Waiting for What Doesn’t Exist

Who actually likes to wait? I know I don’t.

But strangely, waiting sounds normal to my ears. Since I was small, I was always taught: “Wait, be patient.” “Don’t rush.” “Wait for the right time.”

Over time, waiting stopped being a choice and became a habit.

I wait until it’s my turn. I wait until I feel ready. I even wait for myself until I’m ready, until I’m sure, until my condition feels right.

The problem is, the right time never truly comes.

When I believe there will be a perfect condition where I’m most ready for something, I realize that condition is often just an illusion I create myself.

By waiting, I won’t be blamed. By waiting, I won’t face failure. By waiting, I don’t have to move at all.

These phrases often appear in my mind: “I’ll do it later.” “Later is fine.” “I’ll wait until the conditions are good.”

I don’t feel like I’m wasting my time. I call it preparation. I call it patience. When in reality, I’m confusing patience with unconscious waiting until I get used to it and normalize it.

Leak #2: The Illusion of Unlimited Time

I secretly believe that I still have a lot of time, tomorrow, and later.

I don’t truly believe I’ll die tomorrow. I live as if I have a thousand years.

“Later.”

“There’s still time.”

“It’s not too late.”

These words come out so easily from my mouth.

If I live to 80 years old, that means I have 29,200 days. That sounds like a lot.

But if I’m already 30 years old, that means I’ve used 10,950 days. Only 18,250 days remain.

And from those remaining days, how many do I truly live consciously? How many are spent sleeping, working, or stuck in meaningless routines?

Suddenly, the number doesn’t feel that big anymore.

But I rarely think this way. I never really count my remaining days.

What I usually think is: “I’m still young. I still have plenty of time.” This illusion is what makes me postpone.

I postpone exercise because “tomorrow is fine.” I postpone learning something new because “later, when there’s time, I’ll do it.” I postpone contacting my parents because “family time is on the weekend.”

Every time I say “later,” I’m actually gambling. Gambling that I’ll get another chance. Gambling that tomorrow will definitely come.

Sometimes that gamble wins. Sometimes it doesn’t. And when it doesn’t, what’s left is regret.

Leak #3: Cheap Attention

Have I ever counted how many hours a day I spend on screen time?

When I open screen time on my phone and look at the number, it can be shocking.

The average person spends 3–5 hours a day on their phone. That’s almost a third of waking time and I’m not much different.

And most of that time goes to what? Scrolling. Instagram. TikTok. Twitter. YouTube Shorts. Endless scrolling.

I open apps without purpose. I’m not looking for anything. I just scroll.

Without realizing it, 10 minutes pass. Then 30. Then an hour.

I tell myself: “Just a bit.” But that “bit” becomes very long when I’m not conscious.

What’s worse, I feel like nothing is lost. “I’m just watching videos.” “Just relaxing.”

But something is lost: my attention.

Attention is the most valuable currency of this century, and I give it away cheaply.

Every time I scroll, I hand my attention to content I didn’t even choose. The algorithm chooses. I just consume whatever appears.

My mind fills with information garbage, things that don’t matter, things I never chose.

Meanwhile, the truly important things such as reading, talking with family, working on personal projects, learning new skills, don’t happen because I tell myself there’s “no time.”

The time exists. It has just already leaked into the third hole: aimless scrolling.

The Price I Pay

Dreams That Evaporate

Once, I had dreams.

Dreams of becoming a writer. Dreams of building my own business. Dreams of traveling the world.

Those dreams felt alive. I believed I could achieve them. My eyes sparkled. “Someday, I will…”

But that “someday” never arrives.

The dream doesn’t disappear instantly. It evaporates slowly.

“I definitely will” becomes “I want to.”

“I want to” becomes “maybe later.”

“Maybe later” becomes “it’s probably too late.”

Eventually, the dream turns into a memory. “I used to want that. But oh well.”

I normalize my own failure. I call it being realistic. When what actually happened is simple: I let time leak until my dreams faded away.

Missed Momentum

There are moments in life that can’t be repeated.

Moments when my child learns to walk. Moments when my parents are still healthy and want to talk. Moments when an old friend reaches out and wants to meet.

These moments have a window. And that window doesn’t stay open forever.

But I often say: “Later, I’m busy.” “This weekend.” “Next month.”

Then the weekend never happens. And suddenly, the moment is gone.

I can’t return to it. There’s no replay button. It was just momentum I missed.

My Way Stop the Leaks

The first step is recognizing my patterns. I can’t fix what I’m not aware of.

I ask myself:

• What am I waiting for? Will it really come?

• What am I delaying? If I only had one year left, would I still delay this?

• How much time do I spend scrolling? Am I willing to trade that much time for content I won’t even remember?

Then I apply these principles:

I replace “waiting” with “starting now.”

If I’m waiting for the right time to exercise, I start now. No fancy gym. Ten push-ups at home are enough.

If I’m waiting for big capital to start a business, I start now. I sell the cheapest product I can produce. I offer my skills.

I start first and improve later. The right time won’t come unless I create it.

I replace “later” with “today.”

I list the things I keep postponing. I choose one. I do it today.

It doesn’t have to be perfect. One percent progress is still progress.

Ten minutes of jogging. Five new words. A sentence of my idea.

Small actions every day beat big plans that never begin.

I replace “scrolling” with “creating.”

When I feel the urge to open social media without purpose, I ask myself: “What do I actually need right now?”

If I’m bored, I read. If I’m tired, I rest. If I want entertainment, I choose it intentionally not randomly.

If I still scroll, I set a timer and stop when it ends.

Create Systems, Not Rely on Motivation

Motivation comes and goes. Systems keep working.

Some systems I use:

• I put my phone far from my bed

• I set reminders so I don’t postpone

• I block time for important things instead of waiting for free time

Systems make change automatic.

Accept That I Will Fail

Some days I forget. Some days I scroll too long. Some days I postpone again.

I don’t give up because of one failure. Failure isn’t the end of my life, but it’s part of the process.

What matters is when I wake up tomorrow, I will try it again.

Each week, I evaluate myself:

• What did I do well this week?

• Where am I still leaking?

• What is one thing I’ll improve next week?

Without evaluation, I slip back into autopilot.

One Day Truly Lived

Life isn’t about having a lot of time. It’s about how I use the time I already have.

My container isn’t perfect. There are still holes.

But as long as I stay aware and keep patching the leaks, time feels fuller and more present.

I don’t need a thousand years.

I just need to live each day with awareness.

Because one day truly lived is more meaningful than a thousand days that quietly pass.

Time won’t come back. All I have is now.

And for every moment I have, I will not keep my time leaking and if it leaks, I will always to fix it and live fully.