Time. It is a word we hear and use every single day, often without even thinking about it.

As a friend, I hear myself saying, “I don’t know if I have time to hang out today.” As a student, I remember saying, “I don’t have enough time to finish this assignment.” And as a teacher, I often find myself thinking, “I don’t know if I have enough time to complete this activity before the lesson ends.”

Time seems to follow us everywhere. Sometimes we wish we had more of it, and sometimes we wish it would slow down.

But have you ever noticed that time does not always feel the same?

For some people, time passes incredibly quickly, while for others, it feels as though it barely moves. Why does this happen? Are there factors that affect how we experience time, or is it simply a perception created by our minds?

I have always felt that time moves differently depending on the season. For me, winter seems to last much longer than summer. Maybe it is because the days are shorter, the evenings feel longer, and we tend to spend more time indoors. The darkness arrives earlier, and the day can feel like it ends before we are ready.

Summer, however, feels completely different. The long, sunny days, outdoor activities, holidays, and social interactions make time seem to disappear. Before we know it, another summer has passed.

Of course, the number of hours in a day never changes. Yet our experience of those hours does.

However, there is another example of time perception that I have always found interesting, and it is something I experience almost every working day.

As a teacher, I work in two different shifts: the morning shift and the afternoon shift.

The morning shift starts at 8:30 and finishes around 1:00. Every time, I feel as though those hours pass incredibly quickly. Lessons flow, students are more energetic, and before I realize it, the school day is already over.

The afternoon shift, however, feels completely different.

Time seems to move much more slowly. We finish around 6:00, and especially during winter, it is already dark outside. It feels as though the whole day has disappeared, and there is very little energy left afterward. We go home, rest, and often do not have the motivation to do much more because we already feel exhausted.

I have noticed the same thing among my colleagues. During afternoon shifts, many of us feel more tired, less productive, and more aware of every passing minute.

At first, I thought it was only me.

So, I decided to ask my students.

Interestingly, although most students would probably agree that waking up early is not their favorite thing, many of them still preferred attending morning classes. They told me they felt more focused, more active, and that lessons seemed to pass more quickly.

This made me wonder: is there actually a reason behind this feeling?

As it turns out, there is. Research suggests that our perception of time changes depending on our energy levels, attention, and engagement. When we are tired or less focused, time can feel slower. However, when we are involved in something meaningful and interesting, we often lose track of time.

Perhaps this is why some lessons seem to finish before we are ready, while others feel much longer than they are.

As teachers, we cannot always choose when we teach. Some of us will have morning classes, while others will teach later in the day. However, we can think about how we use that time.

Afternoon lessons may require different approaches. More interaction, movement, collaboration, and engaging activities can help both students and teachers maintain their energy and attention. Sometimes, the issue is not the amount of time we have, but how we experience and use that time.

The next time you find yourself thinking, “Time is moving so slowly today,” maybe ask yourself a different question: Is time really moving slower, or is your brain simply experiencing the moment differently?

After all, every day still has the same number of hours.

It is our experience of those hours that makes them feel completely different.