Everyone I know anyone during any stage of life can admit that they have been a clock watcher at one point or another. I personally, am obsessed with time though I couldn’t tell you why. I have two clocks in my bedroom, eight if you count the cell phone and watches. The kitchen has two and immediately around the corner are another two. Of course, none of these clocks read the same time. Some are set faster to prevent being late; some are set to match the cell phone which I think might be the most accurate, and some are at least an hour off because they’ve never been reset from the last Daylight Savings time change. I even continued wearing a watch after the battery died just for the sake of having a watch on hand (pardon the pun).
During school, clock watching was absolutely a way to pass the time, always looking up to see how much longer until class would be over. I think it’s probably safe to say that plenty of people carried this habit into the career world and are all too cognizant of what time it is at any given point in their day. I usually feel torn between wishing it were earlier or later; very rarely do I find myself pleased with exactly the time that it is. I consider myself a morning person so more often than not I am wishing that it were earlier. I get more done in the morning, I don’t feel like I am missing out on anything, and simply being up makes me feel productive.
As soon as that feeling of being unproductive sets in, the clock watching begins. If I move from the computer to the kitchen (a perk of working from home), I guarantee you I look at the computer clock before I leave the office, I check the microwave clock in the kitchen when I get there and when I’m ready to leave, and I probably glance at the computer clock once I sit down again. This is excessive! I don’t even know what I’m looking for; it’s not like I’m timing anything. I just simply like to know what time it is. And while I am being productive, I tend to glance at the clock in between projects, almost as if I’m rewarding myself once something is complete by checking the time.
For someone who simply wants time to slow down, you’d think I would pay a lot less attention to the hours and minutes. I’m also a creature of routine and even when I don’t pay attention to time, my days still unfold at almost the exact timing as when I’m clock watching. Training or no training, watch or no watch, I run a 9 minute mile nearly every single time. Breakfast pains almost always kick in around 8:45 a.m. and I stave them off until anywhere between 9:30 and 10 a.m. only to be predictably hungry for lunch by 1 p.m. though I’m sure to check the clock first to see if it’s lunch time.
I watch the clock in the car to see how long it takes to turn left out of my neighborhood. I love to know how long it takes me to get from one place to another, even if I’ve been there a hundred times before. I check the clock to see if I’m on time, early, or late. When all else fails while waiting, I will stare at any clock I can hone in on. When I think about all the time I’ve spent watching clocks and checking the time, I’m sure it really adds up, and of course I’d love to know exactly how much time it’s taken.
By the way, what time is it?
2 Comments
Well, I never thought about the clock thing… of course NOW I probably will, but you know that I do have a calandar obsession that kind of runs along the same lines. I guess we need to learn to live in the present.
Don’t get me started on your preference NOT to use a timer when cooking, or the dog’s internal breakfast and dinner clock.