Have you ever wondered how you can have a folder on your computer that holds 20GB and then you can zip it up and boom it is only 5GB? No, you’re an iCloud user? Well, for those who do, that’s the magic of compression. There are tons of types of compression, some that are lossless and others are lossy. Lossy means that once compressed the file can’t be restored to its exact original state. This can be useful for things like photos where the sky is several shades of blue, but it isn’t critical to preserve the exact file and by compressing it you won’t notice a difference. Compression works by reducing a pattern or similarity. If I have a file that is ABCDABCDABCD repeated it is much smaller to store “ABCD repeated 10000 times” rather than pages of the actual letters over and over.
I think your memory works similarly. I eat one of five breakfasts daily. I have no recollection what it was two days ago, but it was one of those five things. However, I do remember the breakfast buffet I ate in March at a hotel in Taipei. It was different, there were cinnamon sugar waffles, watermelon juice, and more. It stands out, my mind didn’t compress it.
We all have 24 hours in our day, but how we experience that time will differ. Many people say with kids that the “days are long, but the years are short.” Some of that could be compression through the routine of school, meals, sleep, repeat.
Routine is helpful to keep you on a schedule and heading toward your goals. However, having varied experiences keeps your memories uncompressed. As a result time feels longer than it would have otherwise. Remember my breakfast in March? That feels like it was 2 years ago because since then I have had so many different experiences. I went to Alaska for a month. Spent time in California. Had a water balloon fight. Attended a music festival. Started playing padel. New experiences don’t always have to mean travel, you can switch it up in plenty of other ways. Maybe try a new sport. Go to a new place. Learn a new skill, how about harmonica?
Now, just like other things in life, you have to find the right balance between routine and trying new things. There is probably some application of the secretary problem here as well. For us, we like to have a routine during the weekdays while school is in session, but switch it up on the weekends and school holidays. So the memories of the weekdays are often compressed. That doesn’t mean they aren’t enjoyable. I love to ride my bike to drop of my daughter at school. However, the days do blend together. Meanwhile, taking my kids to experience new things sticks out. I can still remember the expression when my daughter accidentally ate spicy red peppers and the time when she learned to ride a bike.
We are mortal beings, so try to make the most of the time you have on earth. That’s not permission to go YOLO, but an invitation to reassess your routine and make modifications that “extend” your life.