Time Is Elastic: How 1 Minute on Instagram Made Me See Everything Differently

It started with a little pop-up.

On my phone, I have this screen time feature. After I’ve used an app for a certain number of minutes, it gently reminds me:

“Time’s up!”

Today, while scrolling through Instagram, the pop-up showed up.

It gave me options: 1 more minute, 15 more minutes, or ignore limit for the day.

I tapped “1 more minute.”

Just 60 seconds.

But those 60 seconds felt surprisingly rich.

In that single minute, I:

•Scrolled through stories and posts

•Skipped some I didn’t care about

•Watched a reel

•Replied to a friend

•Bookmarked a post for later

And then — ding! — the pop-up came again.

Time’s up.

But here’s the thing: that one minute felt longer than expected.

Why did that minute feel so full?

Because I knew it was limited.

And something shifts in us when time feels limited.

We become more selective. More awake. More intentional.

I didn’t linger.

I didn’t scroll mindlessly.

I was present — in the truest sense.

And it made me realise something simple but powerful:

When we’re truly present, time stretches. When we’re absent, it disappears.

This isn’t just about Instagram.

This one little moment revealed something I’ve felt in other areas of life too.

Like how…

•I can work 10 hours and still feel like I didn’t accomplish much.

•But then there are those short, focused 2-hour bursts — where I move with clarity, and things just click.

Or those “declutter” days I block off.

I tell myself, “I’ll take the whole day to sort this out.”

And then, predictably, the work expands to fit the time.

I drift, I snack, I scroll, I stretch it out…

And I end the day feeling like it could’ve been done in 2 focused hours.

Because it could have!!!

It’s about how you meet time.

And the more you notice your focus, the more time stretches to meet you.

Half-present, half-fulfilled

And hey it’s not just work — this same pattern shows up in how we rest too.

Let’s be honest: how many of us watch Netflix… and scroll our phones at the same time?

(I do. You probably do too.)

But I’ve noticed — I never actually feel refreshed afterward.

Not really.

Because I wasn’t really there.

According to The Guardian, even Netflix knows this. They’re now designing shows that are simple and “second-screen friendly.”

Some shows, reportedly, were rejected because they were too complex to follow while scrolling.

So content is literally being simplified — not because we asked for it — but because platforms assume we won’t be fully present.

Isn’t that wild?

We’re living in a world where full presence is rare — even during downtime.

It’s not about how many hours we give something. It’s about how fully we enter the hours we give.

The 1-minute filter

That 1-minute experiment made me realise something else too:

I skipped the fluff on my own.

Not because of discipline. Not because of motivation.

But because my time was limited — and my brain adjusted.

What if we could use that filter more often to hack other areas of life and get more productive?

•What if we set small windows to focus?

•What if we gave time boundaries instead of endless hours?

•What if the very act of limiting time is what helps us use it better?

Because when time is short, distractions become easier to ignore.

We don’t get pulled in. We move with purpose.

We make quicker choices — because we have to.

And maybe, that’s not a constraint.

Maybe it’s a gift.

So now I’m wondering…

Where else could this shift in presence change everything?

•Could a writer show up fully for just 30 minutes a day and still create something meaningful?

•Could we approach daily tasks — even the ordinary ones — with full attention, and feel more grounded?

•Could we set boundaries around rest too, and actually feel rested when we take it?

Maybe it’s not about doing more. Maybe it’s about showing up more fully in what we already do.

✔ Try This

Just try one thing today.

Pick a task, any task — something you normally drift through.

Then:

1. Set a short, clear time window — 10, 20, 30 minutes.

2. Put away distractions.

3. Show up fully.

4. Let your presence do the work.

Then notice how it felt.

Not just what you got done — but how you felt inside the doing.

Was there more clarity? More ease? That’s time elasticity in action.

And then ask yourself: “Did I just make time feel longer?”

Spoiler: You did.

Don’t stretch the clock. Stretch your presence.

FUNWORK- Ask yourself: Where could you start using less time — but with more presence — in your life?

If this clicked for you even a little, you’re not alone.

We all crave more time — but maybe what we really want… is to feel more alive inside the time we already have.

And the beautiful part?

We can start with just one minute! :)