Clocks are annoying

Anyone with me, here?

Photo by Alexander Schimmeck on Unsplash

Time is the common denominator of our perfunctory lives that no mortal being can eliminate. And yes, it does have a funny way of annoying you just by existing. People say smartphones make us anxious and draw our attention throughout the day.

I beg to differ — the humble clock might be our most-watched device.

Most of us (at least the ones who try to be punctual) check the clock dozens of times every day. To make sure we clock in the office on time. To make our kids reach school on time. To avoid that half-baked brownie from becoming a home-grown piece of coal. To calculate how many more small talks or awkward interactions to have at a party before it’s time to leave. To gauge how much longer that horrendous 25-minute HIIT workout video is going to last!

Simply looking at that second’s hand ticking away can make you fidgety.

And it’s not like we have just one clock in our lives. We have analog watches on our wrists to remind us that we are still old-school in some aspects. There are digital clocks we spot while travelling on the subway, precise to the second except when a train is running late! Don’t forget wall clocks, that let us count the exact number of minutes left until lunchtime. And of course, smartphones, that let us know the time without our brains registering it until we see it in the analog format.

I recently challenged myself to avoid looking at any source of time for as long a stretch as continuously possible. Un-strapped my FitBit (another way to check time!), turned off my phone screen and removed practically every clock out of reach. I got around to about 23 odd minutes (I think I can now effectively estimate time without a watch) before I abruptly woke up from my reverie of time-less bliss — no thanks to my masseuse for that.

Surprising how fast time runs (or at least seems to run) when…

1. The weekend finally arrives
2. When you’re getting ready but are also running late for work
3. When you’re having fun at a party and you know mom will call you just when she shouldn’t…
4. When you’re sharing a yummy dessert with your sibling (you just can’t eat fast enough!)
5. On the last day of your vacation
6. When you remember the last few decades of your life and think, “Whoa, time really flew!”

Even worse is when time slows down, irritating you beyond words…

1. When your best friend goes on and ON about her ex
2. While waiting for that food order to arrive
3. When you’re doing a plank
4. When you’re listening to the music waiting for customer care to come on line
5. When you’re solo travelling (seriously, it’s overrated — here’s why)
6. While travelling on the hills (motion sickness, anyone?)
7. Waiting in line for literally anything.

Would love to hear more such hilarities of the seemingly slow or fast passage of time from your lives!

Share them in the comments, before your clock draws your attention away.