If you are you expecting this piece to be some kind of life coaching, holier than thou piece of nonsense then I am sorry to disappoint you. Instead I shall write about clocks and daylight gains.
Last weekend saw the clocks go back and all of us lose an hour’s worth of precious kip. I awoke on Sunday morning unaware that the time had changed, subsequently realised that my phone and watch were out of sync and then had a minor panic when I realised that I could be missing the Malaysian grand prix.
In the Baldwin house, the time loss is never limited to just one hour because the effort of changing the wealth of clocks takes up the best part of another one! Loving clocks, and having multiples in every room in one’s house, does rather demand an investment of time twice a year.
At least for a few hours after they are changed, the clocks all tell the same time. I have a number of mechanical clocks and, unlike those operating under the influence of batteries, the movements all vary in their time keeping accuracy - which means that after a day or two the time is slightly different depending upon where you look. To be honest, some of my quartz clocks have fine time adjustment just to add complication to the ownership experience.
In my opinion mechanical clocks are more rewarding because of the engineering, the sound and the need to look after them. What with the winding and the tinkering with the fine adjustment, a clock is like a mechanical pet – arguably better than a real one because you don’t have to clear up droppings, although you may get the equivalent of vet bills occasionally.
Changing tack slightly but staying on theme; this time of year is great; daylight lasting longer into the evening lifts one’s spirits and is a productivity delight. Gardens can now be mowed in the evening instead of precious time being wasted at the weekend. The memory jogging expression ‘spring forwards’ is directly relevant to me; my running regime can be re-established. I much prefer running in daylight than darkness.
In addition to productivity at home, productivity at work improves too. During the winter when it’s dark outside by 4:30, the last hour in the office tends to drag because darkness is biologically coded in our brains to mean home time.
From a personal perspective, once the clocks have changed, I find myself working through to 5:30 without even realising what the time is. The last hour of the day is as productive as the first.
When the time changes in autumn, the number of accidents on the roads shoot up thanks to reduced visibility; in spring though, driving to and from work is much safer as the number of road accidents drops markedly.
And on the subject of driving (just in case you are wondering), I managed to tune in before the grand prix actually got underway and I watched the whole race.
My final observations, daylight savings mean you lose an hour’s sleep but the added brightness might just give your soul an uplift, you become more productive, potentially fitter and you are safer too. What’s not to like?
Maybe that last bit risked being the evangelistic kind of clap trap I was trying to avoid so I’ll call time out!
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Last weekend saw the clocks go back and all of us lose an hour’s worth of precious kip. I awoke on Sunday morning unaware that the time had changed, subsequently realised that my phone and watch were out of sync and then had a minor panic when I realised that I could be missing the Malaysian grand prix.
In the Baldwin house, the time loss is never limited to just one hour because the effort of changing the wealth of clocks takes up the best part of another one! Loving clocks, and having multiples in every room in one’s house, does rather demand an investment of time twice a year.
At least for a few hours after they are changed, the clocks all tell the same time. I have a number of mechanical clocks and, unlike those operating under the influence of batteries, the movements all vary in their time keeping accuracy - which means that after a day or two the time is slightly different depending upon where you look. To be honest, some of my quartz clocks have fine time adjustment just to add complication to the ownership experience.
In my opinion mechanical clocks are more rewarding because of the engineering, the sound and the need to look after them. What with the winding and the tinkering with the fine adjustment, a clock is like a mechanical pet – arguably better than a real one because you don’t have to clear up droppings, although you may get the equivalent of vet bills occasionally.
Changing tack slightly but staying on theme; this time of year is great; daylight lasting longer into the evening lifts one’s spirits and is a productivity delight. Gardens can now be mowed in the evening instead of precious time being wasted at the weekend. The memory jogging expression ‘spring forwards’ is directly relevant to me; my running regime can be re-established. I much prefer running in daylight than darkness.
In addition to productivity at home, productivity at work improves too. During the winter when it’s dark outside by 4:30, the last hour in the office tends to drag because darkness is biologically coded in our brains to mean home time.
From a personal perspective, once the clocks have changed, I find myself working through to 5:30 without even realising what the time is. The last hour of the day is as productive as the first.
When the time changes in autumn, the number of accidents on the roads shoot up thanks to reduced visibility; in spring though, driving to and from work is much safer as the number of road accidents drops markedly.
And on the subject of driving (just in case you are wondering), I managed to tune in before the grand prix actually got underway and I watched the whole race.
My final observations, daylight savings mean you lose an hour’s sleep but the added brightness might just give your soul an uplift, you become more productive, potentially fitter and you are safer too. What’s not to like?
Maybe that last bit risked being the evangelistic kind of clap trap I was trying to avoid so I’ll call time out!
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