Illusion that clock is speeding up when you're stressed can be eliminated
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When you've got a daunting list of tasks that need to be done, time can seem to flash past in the blink of an eye.
And now a study has found that having goals that are in conflict - such as working late to impress the boss and making time for your family - can make time seem to pass even quicker.
The researchers say being under pressure can lead to anxiety and make us think we are short on time - but reducing stress could be a solution.
In fact, simply breathing deeply and saying 'I'm excited' was found to improve a person's coping skills and slow down a person's perception of time.
Study by Duke University in NC found conflicting goals make time go fast. People who had multiple things to do and were stressed (stock image shown) felt more pressed for time
The research was carried out by Professor Jordan Etkin from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.
With her colleagues she looked at what makes us feel pressed for time, and how that affects our behaviour.
Managing things on your to-do list, and thus your work-life balance, can often make time seem to pass extremely quickly.
The conclusion was that having goals in conflict, such as perceiving exercise to get in the way of family time, made people anxious, leading them to think they were short on time.
As a solution to the problem, Professor Etkin and her colleagues said breathing exercises could restore people's sense of time.
In the experiment half of participants that had said they had conflicting goals were told to take 11 seconds over a breath, while the other half who did not were told simply to count to 11.
The slow breathers reported less anxiety and a longer view of time than the counting group.
Similarly, conflicted subjects told to repeat aloud 'I am excited!' also reported that they felt like they had more time available.
'Goal conflict is often about perception,' Professor Etkin said.
'In many situations, we don't have to feel that conflict. The simple tactics identified in my research can help manage that experience.'
In their experiments, Professor Etkin and her colleagues studied people who saw their goals as competing, and those who saw little conflict.
In the first experiment, subjects were asked to list two goals that were 'in conflict with one another,' while a control group listed two goals with no mention of conflict.
Then the researchers recorded their perceptions of available time. Participants who considered conflicting goals felt they had less time. This held true regardless of whether the conflict involved money or time.
In the study the researchers found conflicting goals affected the behaviour of people. For example they were more likely to be impatient or spend money, such as paying for quick delivery (stock image shown)
Another experiment asked participants to choose between two cars, drawing on prior research that identified safety and pollution as two big consumer concerns.
Participants who were told that the car with the worst survival rate was the most eco-friendly - putting two valued goals in conflict - reported feeling more stress and having less time than those offered a car that was clearly superior in both categories.
The researchers also found the stress of competing goals made consumers less willing to wait and more inclined to pay to save time.
In a twist on the car experiment, participants were told their chosen car was not ready and were asked how long they'd be prepared to wait.
Those in the high-conflict group were willing to wait fewer days than those with less conflict.
In another scenario, subjects with goal conflicts were willing to pay 30 per cent more for expedited shipping of a DVD.
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