Time was flying as I watched my kids grow up in front of me. So I made an effort to slow it down.

• My daughter is 7 years old, and I now understand how quickly time goes by when you have kids.
• I realized I was repeating the same activities, and that my brain was on autopilot.

"Enjoy your kids! They grow up fast!" I heard those words a million times as a new mom.

When my daughter was an infant, time dragged. I was always striving toward the next milestone, counting the days as she learned to roll, crawl, walk, and talk. Now, she's 7 years old, and her milestones have evolved. She's learning Spanish, playing violin, and reading to her little brother.

I couldn't believe how seven years flew by. My daughter was a "big kid." I wanted to slow things down. So I started researching time.

I discovered that our brains perceive time moving quickly or slowly based on factors such as routine, complacency, multitasking, technology, and emotion.

Routine makes time move quickly, whereas new experiences slow it down. No wonder time has flown for us. Since the start of the pandemic, my family has spent more time in the house. Repeating the same activities puts your brain on autopilot and dampens the creation of new memories.

So I made an effort to break the cycle and do new things with my kids, so I can remember these days with them.

I created new activities for my children

Think of the daily drive to work or school. Sometimes you can't remember the drive because your brain doesn't pay close attention to the route. Now, think of driving to a vacation destination. You're more likely to remember this car ride since your brain works harder to process new information.

Keeping this in mind, I found ways to weave extraordinary experiences into our daily lives. To have an effect, I needed to go bigger than crafts and recipes.

I focused on new activities and a change of scenery.

Our days grew busy as we built a scooter racetrack in the basement. From running time trials to rescuing stranded cars, our hours were action-packed and fulfilling.

Getting out of the house became a priority. Some adventures were close to home, such as building a snow castle in our driveway. Some days we ventured out to find hidden waterfalls or quiet beaches. These brand-new experiences made fresh, long-term memories.

After a few weeks, I looked back on clear memories and felt I had a stronger hold on time.

But not every moment can be a new experience. I wanted to stretch the mundane moments, too.

Mindfulness helped me with the mundane moments

The key was mindfulness. Being mindful of the moment, no matter how ordinary it is, teaches you to slow down and focus only on the present. That focus stretches time.

I tried simple mindfulness exercises with my kids. During the daily drive to school, we looked for beauty in the sound of rain or the smell of cut grass. We sang along to feel-good songs like Taylor Swift's "Me!" and Justin Timberlake's "Can't Stop the Feeling." Some days we played sensory games to find a sight, sound, or feeling for each letter of the alphabet.

Mindfulness isn't easy, but distractions and multitasking speed up our perception of time.

Like many people, my worst multitasking habit is checking my phone. It turns out, time races when you use technology. I've started using the "phone calls only" setting when I'm with my kids, but it's hard to completely unplug.

While these tricks have helped, we still lose some afternoons to screens or laziness. But anxiety is yet another time trap, so I try not to stress when this happens.

Overall, I feel more in control of the ticking clock, and I'm getting more quality time with my kids. We snuggle more. We laugh more. We plan more adventures. We're creating memories that may stick with us long after the moment has passed.

I haven't stopped the clock, but now when it comes to my kids, time is on my side.