'How Do I Escape A Time Loop?'

Is a time loop something you get stuck in or something you get to spend time in?

I'm stuck in a time loop! How do I get out?

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Hi babe, mwah!

That fucking sucks! That really fucking sucks!

But given the fact that I was able to receive this message, you know, that seems like a good sign for you. That either means that asking me how to get out of the time loop broke the time loop, or you just concidentally also did something in the same loop where you sent me this message, that managed to break the time loop. Both are equally likely, and I can't really point to one or the other without knowing the rest of the details of your time loop. (And I feel like, based on the vague things I know about time loops, if it was sending me a message about your time loop, your question would have had to be a lot more detailed.)

Unless of course, the first thing you do in your time loop is directly ask me for advice on how to get out of your time loop. Then it is more likely that you are still stuck in the time loop, then I'm just a person you interact with during your time loop. And I don't really know the rules for people that the time loopee interacts with inside of the time loop. If the time loopee interacts with someone in a slightly different way each time, are there multiple versions of that person? Multiple versions of me, and multiple versions of this advice column entry? All with slight, or maybe even drastic, differences between them? Or do I just re-write this message the exact same way each time, no matter how the time loopee interacts with me initially? Do I never write this message until after you break the time loop? I mean, I have to admit that I'm not writing my response on the same day I received the email. You could perhaps never read my response until you break the time loop, and then it, in every way that matters, is not good advice on how to break the time loop. But who comes here for good advice anyways?

Or! Am I something akin to a radio show host you hear out of the radio alarm clock each morning? Are you punching a clock and groaning at the sound of my voice? Or whatever the digital written media version of that is, groaning at the sight of my email in your inbox?

But who cares about all that anyways! It is not my time loop! It's yours!

The first thing I suggest you do is watch Groundhog Day. Personally, I've never seen it. (I know, I know that it is one of those movies you've seen, even if you've never seen it. I know, I know, I just made a reference to it.) I mean, you have all the time in the world, so why not take the time to watch it and see what you can learn from it. I'd suggest taking notes, but you wouldn't have them to help you in the future. But future isn’t really the right word to use there — it wouldn’t really help you in the repeated present? Anyways, just try to remember as much as you can from it in case it proves useful.

Time loops in general, seem to be about two things, either solving a puzzle, or bettering yourself. Bettering yourself is like a puzzle, actually, just more internally. So I guess the first step of escaping a time loop is figuring out if you have to solve an internal puzzle or an external puzzle.

If it is an external puzzle, you have the benefit of being able to change things ever so slightly with each interaction until you get the answer correct. You should have a good idea on who the people you see with each loop are, and what the same types of things that happen on each loop are. These are the exact types of things that are going to be critical. And once you identify them, these things should start to fall into patterns that should connect to one another, revealing the answer to whatever the puzzle may be. You could even spend some time completely ignoring the loop and just focusing on planning out everything you already know, versus the things you don't know, that way you can see where the gaps are. Once you know where the gaps are, you can figure out what steps to take in the next loop. This may also reveal to you some connections you had a feeling about, but were unsure of.

And if you can't figure it out on the first try, you have unlimited tries anyways. Try and try and try and try and try again. (I’d write it more times but then I wouldn’t give anymore advice.)

If it is an internal puzzle — the kind of which that will end with you bettering yourself — you have the benefit of knowing that the answer is within yourself, rather than having to find the answer from an external source. That also means you have the disadvantage of knowing the answer is within yourself. I would say that is certainly a double edged sword, and a sharp one at that, but at least you're the one who holds the sword.

But that at least means that it is an internal skill or ability! It may not pertain to the time loop, but you could learn to play an instrument, learn a new language, read a bunch of books, watch a lot of reality television, or learn the ratio by heart to make the perfect Dark & Stormy. (I ordered a Dark & Stormy at a bar recently, the bartender didn't know what it was and I felt like such an asshole. She still made one for me after I told her the recipe, but I still felt so so sooooooo awful about it.) You have as much time as you want to mess around and learn something, as long as you can keep all the information in your head.

To get back on track, if it is an internal skill or ability you have to figure out, I think it would be best if you considered the kind of thematic motifs you have in your time loop. What kinds of things seem to be overwhelmingly present? But, the issue with that, is that you could end up considering everything a motif, you may never really hit what the actual thing you're supposed to do is. You'd have to create some kind of solid criteria to find out what the most satisfactory possibilities are that align with what things repeat, that way you won't be stuck fishing up red herrings over and over again with no end in sight.

But I'll help you out a little bit, and give sort of a guideline for what to consider when attempting to figure out if something could be potentially linked to finding a satisfactory ending of bettering yourself.

The first thing you should do is attempt to identify the genre of situation you are in. If you are writing into an advice column about being stuck in a time loop, it is likely going to be a sort of slice of life scenario. That means that whatever you have to do, should not be very difficult in regards to possibility. It can be done, it is possible. You should remind yourself of that whenever you are feeling defeatist.

The second thing you should do is think of the most obvious thing you are supposed to do. What were your original plans for the day? What were you planning to do the night before you knew you were stuck in a time loop? If you can't remember it exactly, you should at least have reminders of it throughout the day, for the rest of the world, it is still the next day as it was going to be the day before.

The third thing you should do is consider what would be the best possible future outside of the time loop. What would you want to do tomorrow? A real tomorrow? What can you do in that time loop to be able to achieve that tomorrow? Simplest things first, hardest things last, and then you’ll probably have to do them in succession.

I think when people talk about time loops, they never really consider what the next day will be, and by that I’m referring to what will happen once the time loop is over. That's because the time loop is such an overwhelming force, that it takes all of your attention. And I don’t blame people for that at all, but what do you want to do when you no longer know what is going to happen? If you can pinpoint that down, I think you’ll be able to clearly see what you need to do to be able to break the time loop.

And then you have the uncertainty of something new to look forward to.

Although, maybe you should read this column from the beginning again, just in case. And perhaps even a third time for good luck.

Mwah,

Remy

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Need advice? Send an email to remywritten@hotmail.com, and you could get an answer in a future installment.