How to Unlock Time

January 13, 2023

The Art of Applied Visual Thinking

The official newsletter of Applied Visual Thinking SUPERHEROES. Vol. 4 No. 1 January 13, 2023

We all want more time in life, right?

More time to be a kid, more time with friends and family, and more time for that big project, right? I know I definitely want more time to get to those bucket list items. In this article, I'll reveal the true secret to finding more of that ever-elusive gem, TIME… and how I discovered it using visuals.

My great discovery started when I watched a movie that had one of those classic scenes where one of the characters unlocks a combination lock by slowly turning the dial, listening closely and feeling for the clicks. It looks simple, but clearly only the most skilled in the group can open the lock without setting off an alarm. Given the time constraint the characters were facing, it struck me how both the combination lock and clock could be drawn starting from a simple circle.

Drawings of a combination lock and clock with red circles highlighting main shapes.

Noodling with sketches of locks and clocks, phrases began popping into my head such as "find the key," "sequencing and combinations," and "unlock time."

What if we could unlock time?

It’s not literally possible to alter time (as far as we know at the moment), but a chill vacation day at the beach certainly seems to stretch much longer than a busy, deadline-driven day at work, right? In Deb's final AVT Newsletter of 2022, she talked about wanting to keep up with the supersonic speed of change in today's world through her 2023 word of the year, "open." What if every now and then, instead of speeding up, we could slow the world down to our own natural pace?

Reading about how our brains process the passage of time, I kept stumbling upon a few key themes.

Be present. Focus deeply on something you love. Experience something new. If you do these, you will find more time.

It all comes down to our perception of time. At AVT, we are all about employing the power of visuals to enhance perception.

Drawings of a blue combination lock and green clock connected by curly arrows from lock to clockp8

Here are the steps to time-finding based on my interpretation of the research and my own experience.

Focus on one thing at a time. Make it something (or someone!) that is worth spending your time with. Some examples might be putting away your devices as you engage in a conversation, or closing all other windows on your computer as you draft an article. If you only have a minute or two, just pick a number and count up to it.
Experience deeply. Really see, hear, smell, touch and taste to the extent you are able. By mindfully taking in whatever you are perceiving, you will literally deepen the memory track formed in your brain.
Learn something new. Becoming a "newbie" (learning a new skill or refreshing a forgotten one) makes you pay closer attention than doing something for which you have already established habits. Doing something in a new way like taking a new route home or using a new tool works, too.

If learning something new sounds like fun to you, consider which Applied Visual Thinking course might fit for you next. All our AVT courses are designed to allow opportunities for you to focus, dive deeper into the material, and review what you've learned. When you complete the course, our goal is that you are ready to apply what you learned.

Returning to the combination lock metaphor, the KEY TO UNLOCKING YOUR VISUAL SUPERPOWERS is to…