Introduction. The discovery of inner time -- pt. I. Experiencing time -- 1. Twenty-five hours : what happens when nothing happens -- A hidden clock -- How long does an hour last? -- The trouble with time -- 2. Owls and larks : a biological clock guides us through the day -- Even flowers are aware of time -- Trillions of clocks -- The Sun sets the internal clock -- Why there are morning people and night people -- When sex is best -- Why teenagers are night owls -- Twilight gloom -- Better to be well-heeled and worn out than hale and hearty -- Tailor-made time -- 3. A sense of seconds : the origin of inner time -- Under the spell of Boléro -- Pacemakers in the brain -- Time is motion -- Distorted minutes -- An orchestra under the cranium -- The art of cooking goulash -- When the world begins to race -- Country folk, city folk -- 4. The longest hour : why time races and crawls -- Two minutes on a hot oven -- The rhythm of breath -- Why murders take forever -- Time flies when you're having fun -- Let the good times last -- 5. Atoms of time : how long does the present last? -- Time in a black hole -- A mosquito beating its wings -- The now is an illusion -- Consciousness lags behind -- Mind-reading airplanes -- The longest moment -- 6. "Twinkies, granola" : neglecting the now -- Head in the clouds -- Banal banter -- Consciousness on autopilot -- Three minutes of eternity -- 7. Frozen in time : we are the architects of our memory -- Life without past and future -- Several kinds of memory -- How the present become memory--and vice versa -- Memory transforms us -- His own history -- No watch, no calendar -- Retouching experiences -- A house of splinters and chips -- 8. Seven years are like a moment : why life speeds up as we grow older -- Why the way back is always shorter -- Machines that kill time -- "An house is not merely an hour" -- Crossing the threshold of the moment -- The teddy bear test -- Pioneers on an empty continent -- Revamping the brain -- Short on time -- Racing to the home stretch -- Applying the brakes as we age -- Where the years do not count.
pt. II. Using time -- 9. The allure of speed : how fast a pace can we endure? -- The three time wasters -- Measuring device as moral barometer -- The push for punctuality -- Faster! -- The race is on -- A journey through time to Weimar -- Craving stimulation -- The battle of life -- Why we are no longer able to listen -- 10. The cup of life runneth over : why it is so difficult to stay focused, and how to do it -- The manager of our intentions -- A god with six hands -- The sluggish mind -- Thoughts adrift -- Sushi chef and fidgety Philip -- Card games to combat distractibility -- 11. Ruled by the clock : little time [is not equal to] big stress -- What stress is -- The myth of "hurry sickness" -- When we lose our heads -- Calm and controlled -- Why managers don't get ulcers -- Dogged by a duck -- A shortage of time is a matter of perspective -- 12. Masters of our time : a matter of motivation -- Pleasure or pressure? -- Why we always finish things at the last possible minute -- That prickle of anticipation -- The rich run themselves ragged -- The hunger for more -- pt. III. What time is -- 13. Dismantling the clock : is time just an illusion? -- A voyage to Jamaica -- The universal clock -- Do we need a cosmic time? -- Thelma, Louise, and the rocket -- Why moving watches are slower -- If you travel to the East, you live longer -- Life is faster at the top -- The succession of earlier and later -- The teacup and the big bang -- At the limits of physics -- Transcending time -- Epilogue. A new culture of time : six steps to a more relaxed life -- Can one "have" time? -- A new culture of time -- First step : sovereignty over time -- Second step : living in harmony with your biological clock -- Third step : cultivating leisure time -- Fourth step : experiencing the moments -- Fifth step : learning to concentrate -- Sixth step : setting your priorities -- Taking it easy -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Illustration permissions -- Acknowledgments -- Index.
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