does-making-change-our-sense-of-time DIY Culture

DIY Culture

Does Making Change Our Sense of Time?

About this topic

The question 'Does making change our sense of time?' highlights the difference between 'clock time' measured by watches and calendars and the 'process time' experienced in the act of making. When creating something by hand, time does not flow linearly but 'stretches or contracts' through dialogue with materials, trial and error, and deepening concentration. In a flow state, hours can feel like moments, while failures or hesitation make time feel heavy. This question reexamines the transformation of time perception brought by making in an era of 'time-efficiency supremacy,' exploring the possibility of a life where one feels richness even while busy.

Conceptual positions
01 Process-Priority View

The view that the act of making itself changes time perception and places value on process over result. It sees slowness and wandering as enhancing creativity and life's richness.

02 Efficiency View

The view that time is a finite resource and buying is more efficient than making. It negatively sees changes in time perception as 'inefficiency.'

03 Flow Psychology View

The view that making induces flow states and that changes in time perception lead to well-being and self-actualization. It positively evaluates the time experience psychologically.

04 Cultural-Anthropological View

The view that in traditional handcraft cultures, time perception differs from the modern one, and making fosters harmony with community and nature. It includes criticism of modern society.

Talk entry points

  1. Have you ever experienced time flying while making something? How did you feel at that moment?

  2. After stopping making, have you experienced your sense of time returning with a feeling of 'I was that focused…'?

  3. Have you ever thought 'I can't make because I have no time'? Is that sense of 'no time' really true?

  4. Have you ever strongly felt 'this very moment' during the making process? What kind of moment was it?

  5. Have you ever found the 'slowness' of handwork comfortable instead? Why did you feel that way?

  6. If you secured 30 minutes of 'making time' every day, how do you think your life and feelings would change?

Conceptual tensions
Efficiency vsImmersion
Society's drive to use time efficiently conflicts with the deep immersion and transformation of time sense from making. Which to prioritize is a modern dilemma.
Clock Time vsBodily Time
The gap between clock time imposed by society and the bodily time sense awakened by making. The act of making serves as an opportunity to become aware of this gap.
Productivity vsRichness
Productivity of 'creating something' versus inner richness felt in time. Making gives time value beyond productivity.
Acceleration Society vsSlow Life
In a modern society where everything spins fast, the 'slow time' brought by making is both resistance and a means of recovery.
Talk note

This theme is a space for dialogue to quietly reexamine 'what time is' through the act of making. Let us share the time sense of immersion and richness—not with criticism, but with a gentle gaze—rather than efficiency or productivity.

Glossary
Process Time
The subjective, non-linear sense of time experienced during the act of making. Unlike clock time, it stretches or contracts through concentration and immersion.
Flow State
A psychological state proposed by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in which one is fully immersed in an activity and loses track of time. It frequently occurs during making.
Mindfulness
A state of paying attention to the present moment without judgment. It forms the foundation of the time sense naturally cultivated through handwork.
Value of Slowness
The richness of deep understanding, attachment, and creativity brought by the slowness of handwork. A value opposite to efficiency.
Temporal Immersion
The state of deeply entering the 'here and now' time by immersing oneself in the act of making, rather than past or future.
Consumptive Time
The short, flat sense of time associated with buying and consuming objects. Contrasted with the time sense of making.
Reflective Time
Time that arises during making for reflecting on oneself and one's relationship with objects. It promotes growth and insight.
Talk prompts
Ice breaker

Tell me a small episode about how time felt the last time you were making something.

Deep dive

If you only had one hour a day for 'making time,' how would you want to use that time? How would you like to spend it?

Bridge

When the other person is talking about time, quietly ask: 'Have you ever experienced your sense of time changing through making?' From their answer, you might catch a glimpse of their way of living and values.

Further questions
  • Differences in time perception between digital tools and handwork
  • The difference in time experience between 'multitasking' and 'concentrated making'
  • The meaning of making time for the elderly
  • The role of handwork in nurturing children's sense of time
  • Can making help rediscover the value of 'waiting'?
  • The potential of DIY in a time-poor society