Make More Milestones

On Monday, over a few beers at a local brewery, a friend of mine mentioned an idea he had. Someone told him it was a great blog post and he said he didn't have time. So I said I was going to steal it, and he gave me permission.  

I suppose that it my disclaimer.

Here is the idea that Boomer had that I am now going to muse about.

During the conversation that led up to this a friend of ours mentioned that 2014 went by very quickly. I said there was a reason for that.

As it turns out our perception of time is intimately linked with the memory of new experiences. That is why we remember nearly Christmas and summer vacation from our childhood but once we grow up and start creating routine we tend to forget more and, as a consequence, time zips by much faster.

Boomer said he referred to it as the Milestone Effect. As an adult common milestones include things like getting married or having a child, but beyond that many of us just go to work and come home every day.

When I was living and working in Atlanta, the time went by very quickly during the week. I got up at the same time every morning, I drove the same commute to work, I did the same job every day, I came home and sat on my sofa until it was time for bed. Then I got up and did it all again.

However, I was also very conscious that this was happening around me. This is one of the primary reasons we began to build the tiny house. It gave us a sense of purpose and it gave us the ability to look forward to a major milestone in our lives.

If you want to slow down time, make more milestones!

It doesn't have to be something like having a child, although that would work for many people. In can be an experience or travel. It can be building a tiny house. Just make try to make things count and continue to build new memories.

Matt and I made a huge decision to move away from our friends and family to a city where we knew nearly no one. Moving to Atlanta was a milestone.

After settling into a routine in Atlanta time started to move quickly. We began to think of the next steps in our lives. We hated the thought that we would wait until some future time when we felt settled enough to accomplish some lifelong goals. So we started working on it.

• We bought land - that was a milestone. 
• We started building a tiny house - that was a milestone.
• We traveled to South Africa - that was a milestone.
• I quit my job - that was a milestone. 
• We moved into our tiny house - that was a milestone. 

I think you see how this works.

I'm not, by any means, saying that everyone needs to quit their job or start building a tiny house. But based on psychology and Boomer's theory, if you Make More Milestones you will effectively slow down time. You will remember more.

What milestones do you want to make in 2015?