Last week I carried on as normal with clocks and other time keeping devices, but kept an eye on how much I used them, and how I felt knowledge of the time was affecting me.
I noticed that I do check the time a lot (although I was aware of that already - one of the reasons for doing this experiments) and I would be interested to know if that is a common affliction amongst the self employed?
I also noticed that if I have an engagement later in the day - an afternoon meeting or a trip to the pub in the evening for example - I am very aware of the countdown of time until that point. I tend to work backwards for afternoon and evening things; if I have to be in X at 6 and it takes me an hour to get there and half an hour to change out of my work clothes and gobble some toast then I have to stop work at half 4 and so on. and I become very aware of the time, quite worried by it ticking past until the point when I must stop what I am doing.
I worry a lot about time passing.
I am concerned by missing points in time when I should be doing something - a phone conversation scheduled for 1o'clock means I constantly check if I am late.
I over use my egg timer! I set the timer when I am in the shower so as not not stay in there for ages by accident, I sometimes set it when I am on the internet, having lunch and so on.
I worry about not getting enough done for the amount of time spent doing it.
I like to know what time I am turning the light off at night and what time it is when I wake up (invariably before the alarm goes off)
I think I am obsessed!
Obviously there were points last week when knowing the time was very useful - getting the train, meeting a friend etc, and it would be very hard to live permanently without time-keeps but we shall see how it goes this week.
Last night before bed I scrambled the clock on my phone (it seems I cannot hide the clock on my phone so I set it for a random time) Iphones have a kind of fruit machine thing for setting time and timers so I spun the hour and minute wheels and left it at whatever time it ended up on.
I hid the clock on my computer, took down the clocks around my flat and put them away and am stoicly ignoring my beloved egg timer!
I did have a small panic last night when I checked to see what time it was and had forgotten that I had scrambled the clock but woke up this morning quite happily and naturally and am now getting on with my day, without clocks.