Some people say it feels as though time is passing more slowly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Is this a common phenomenon?
As we enter the winter months in the midst of a COVID-19 pandemic, we are exploring the idea of time.
Some people say it feels as though time is passing more slowly. Is this a common phenomenon? We asked Waterloo psychology PhD candidate Lydia Hicks for her thoughts on the passing of time, why it’s important to our mental health, and what strategies people can use to cope.
How has the pandemic shifted the way people experience the passing of time?
We examined this question using an online survey that we administered in an undergraduate group of students in early April – a couple weeks after the COVID-19 prevention measures (e.g., online learning) had been implemented at the University of Waterloo. Students who responded to our survey were from a second-year physiological psychology course, and were adjusting to these new and unexpected online course changes in all of their courses. We found that students perceived significant decreases in their abilities to keep track of time and day relative to their experiences before these COVID-19 prevention measures were implemented.
Why is this important to our mental health?
We know these changes in time/day tracking are important for our mental health because of how these changes relate to changes in other factors that we examined. For example, we found that students who reported reduced abilities to track time were also more likely to report increases in their school-related anxiety, as well as decreases in their motivation. We also examined attentional factors that have previously been linked to mental health, and we found that when students reported reduced abilities to track time, they also reported reduced abilities to focus on school work and increased mindless technology use. Thus, students who are reporting worsened abilities to track time are also reporting worsening measures of mental health and attention.
What strategies can people use to help them deal with this phenomenon?
Researchers have already offered some suggestions for ways that we can improve our abilities to track the passage of time. One common method is the Pomodoro Technique, which suggests working and resting for a set time in a cyclic fashion (e.g., working for 25 minutes, resting for 5 minutes, repeat). Another technique that has been helpful is called Mental Contrasting with Implementation Intentions, which is involves first imagining a wished-for outcome that you’d like to see happen in the future (e.g., passing a midterm test), followed by imagining the roadblocks that might hold you back from obtaining that future (e.g., falling behind on your online course content). The last step is to plan how to deal with potential challenges beforehand (e.g., making up a schedule to stay on track and help you notice how much time you have left to prepare). This technique has been shown to improve both self-regulation and time management.
The University of Waterloo has a number of experts available for comment on various aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic, click here to see the up-to-date list.
