It’s Monday morning, and I feel like blogging about something a bit different today.
Over the summer, I stopped wearing a watch while on vacation, and I never put it back on. It’s been an interesting experience as I develop a new relationship with time, and I thought I’d share some of what’s changed for me.
Do you realize how much time we waste looking at our watches and checking the time? I didn’t until I stopped wearing one. I can actually see an uptick in productivity since I made the decision. And my experience with the passing of time is different. Time doesn’t seem to drag as often. That alone has been worth the experience.
I’m still on time for all my appointments. In fact, I’m often earlier, and I seldom feel rushed to get somewhere. How can I do that without a watch? Simple. Every Monday, I sit down with my phone and calendar, and I set reminders for each appointment. I look at where I am going, plan for probable traffic and set a reminder that will get me there at least 15 minutes early. When my alarm goes off, I pack up and go. Before, I would have an idea of when I should leave, but I rarely stuck to it. I would get distracted by whatever I was doing and would suddenly look at my watch and think, “Darn! Barely enough time.” Not now. I plan it in advance and obey my alarm.
I’m sleeping better. I used to check the time in the middle of the night. Then of course, I had to calculate how much time until I had to get up. That would wake me up enough that getting back to sleep was a challenge. Now, I wake up and drift right back off. So far no problems with sleeping past when I need to take the dog outside on weekends.
Are there any downsides? Sure. My wrist still feels naked. A decent bracelet should fix that, and I’m trying one now.
The oddest downside is when I am speaking. If the room has a clock, I’m fine. But if it doesn’t, I have a hard time gauging time. My iPhone works as a clock most of the time, but it’s kind of awkward to pull it out in the middle of a presentation to check my timing. Setting it on a nearby surface and drifting over to make a quick check is mostly working. But I still need to find a better way of dealing with this situation.
Any ideas? Anyone else tried getting rid of the watch?
Tags: time management