Perception of time

[One]

If you can retire in your early 30s your perception of time will be slower than in your 50s.

1 year at 30= 1/30 of your lifespan, time perceived slower

1 year at 50= 1/50 of your lifespan, time perceived faster

The earlier you can the retire the better because you gain both real time and perceived time.  Just an argument against that one more year syndrome we all seem to have.

[BudgetSlasher]

While my experience agrees that the older I get the faster time seems to go, I am not sure I follow your math where a period of time which makes up a greater percentage of your life experience to that point is perceived as faster.

Regardless I agree that once one can undertake their version of retirement comfortable there is no reason to work (solely) for pay or insurance.

[FIREstache]

Yeah, a year still feels that same to me as it did 20 years ago.

[Kris]

Yeah, a year still feels that same to me as it did 20 years ago.

Me, too.

I’m 52 right now. And I’ll admit, getting up from the loveseat where I like to spend my time reading hurts more than it did a year or two.

That said, I freaking love my life, and once I’ve gotten myself up and walked around for 15-30 seconds, I feel as good as I ever have. And the days actually feel like they go a little slower, because DH is retired and I work for myself now, so my time is my own.

[MoneyGoatee]

I think there are two things at work: (1) how fast you feel time passes, and (2) how long ago a point in the past feels like.  If there is not much going on in your daily life, you feel time passes slowly.  But paradoxically, you also feel not much time has passed.  If the same things happen every day of your life, the lack of variety makes you feel you haven't lived very long.  So it's important for anyone at any age, retired or not, to seek new adventures every so often.  A working person in repetitive daily working routines are in need of that, and so do retirees with all the time in the world.

[HBFIRE]

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-does-time-seem-to-speed-up-with-age/

tldr: the passage of time will seem faster if you aren't creating new experiences and have too much routine.  Older people tend to have more routine and less new experiences. You can alter the perception of time passing too quickly by keeping your brain active, continually learning skills and ideas, and exploring new places.

[kenmoremmm]

If you can retire in your early 30s your perception of time will be slower than in your 50s.

1 year at 30= 1/30 of your lifespan, time perceived slower

1 year at 50= 1/50 of your lifespan, time perceived faster

The earlier you can the retire the better because you gain both real time and perceived time.  Just an argument against that one more year syndrome we all seem to have.

this is my dad's exact theory of time as well. i've always liked the concept.

[Luz]

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-does-time-seem-to-speed-up-with-age/

tldr: the passage of time will seem faster if you aren't creating new experiences and have too much routine.  Older people tend to have more routine and less new experiences. You can alter the perception of time passing too quickly by keeping your brain active, continually learning skills and ideas, and exploring new places.

This issue was addressed in the book, "Off the Clock" by Laura Vanderkam. I'm not explaining it as eloquently as she, but if I take the same 1 hr commute to work every day for a year, my brain will basically collapse the 250 hours into 1 hr, because there is no need to process it any other way. Which sucks for me, because I'm a creature of habit who likes to automate everything. I'm challenging myself to finding a better balance of the routine and novel in my life, because time is moving too quickly and I'm in my 30's still. I understand now how people calcify as they age.

[2sk22]

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-does-time-seem-to-speed-up-with-age/

tldr: the passage of time will seem faster if you aren't creating new experiences and have too much routine.  Older people tend to have more routine and less new experiences. You can alter the perception of time passing too quickly by keeping your brain active, continually learning skills and ideas, and exploring new places.

This is a good observation. Having read many posts in the past six months that Ive been lurking here, it occurred to me that the FIRE community is quite diverse with respect to routine:

• Some work people highly structured jobs want to retire early to avoid being stuck in a routine.
• Others work unpredictable jobs and crave a routine.

[Schaefer Light]

It's not only your perception of time that matters.  If you enjoy physical activities or sports, it's also a matter of being able to enjoy them more while you're still in relatively good shape.  I like to play golf, and even though it's a sport one can play for a long time it's a lot more painful now that I'm 40 (mainly due to joint pain in my elbows and wrists) than it was at 30 (when I was pain-free).  I'm not sure my joints will be in good enough shape to play when I'm 60.

[mschaus]

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-does-time-seem-to-speed-up-with-age/

tldr: the passage of time will seem faster if you aren't creating new experiences and have too much routine.  Older people tend to have more routine and less new experiences. You can alter the perception of time passing too quickly by keeping your brain active, continually learning skills and ideas, and exploring new places.

FYI the same, locally sourced:
https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2019/01/28/how-to-slow-down-time-and-live-longer/

[Cranky]

I'm pretty happy just stretched out on my lawn chair with my book. My life will last exactly as long as it does whether I'm golfing or reading, going to work, or not. The secret is just to enjoy your life.

[profnot]

A couple of days ago I read a cute joke related to this topic -

Warning!  Dates in calendar are closer than they appear.

[soccerluvof4]

It's not only your perception of time that matters.  If you enjoy physical activities or sports, it's also a matter of being able to enjoy them more while you're still in relatively good shape.  I like to play golf, and even though it's a sport one can play for a long time it's a lot more painful now that I'm 40 (mainly due to joint pain in my elbows and wrists) than it was at 30 (when I was pain-free).  I'm not sure my joints will be in good enough shape to play when I'm 60.

Thats spot on. I kid all the time but there is some truth to it. At 45 everything started to wear out  was more sore, started to need readers , hearing slipping and so on. I say from 45 to 50 every year it felt like my body aged 3. In my 50's now I feel like I am on dog years. Every year I seem to age like 7. Fortunately I workout or at least exercise 6 days a week and usually once I get up and going things loosen up as it only gets worse but you find ways to be smarter about things because the other choice is not a good one.