Constantly checking what time it is - adding unecessary stress to my life?

[Relvin]

I am self employed and I have quite a big list of things to do each day on my 30 day challenge list, both work and personal development related. I find myself constantly checking the clock (even though I do not have any appointments or time critical tasks).

Some of my goals say I have to do a certain activity X or Y amount of time. So often I project my day and it shows me how much slack time I have. I seem to have developed the habit long ago where I feel like I frequently need to take breaks. I also think that this habit makes me feel like I have to do the tasks on my list and it naturaly makes them seem less enjoyable. Anyone have any experience with this? Today I considered taking down all clocks and disabling my computer clock.

Thoughts and tips on my situation?!

edit: One problem I see with worrying about the time so much is that I can obviously not control the time, and I find it ideal to only worry about the thing I can control .... maybe I should do a 30 day challenge to not check the time?? Is that a good or bad idea?

-thanks

[ScottJMurray]

I used to do the same thing, I'd worry about how much I was getting done in a certain time-frame. It's a typical type-A personality trait to worry about how you're spending your time. I was always trying to maximize the "effectiveness" of my time, or maximize my "fun." Instead I just drove myself crazy putting loads of extra pressure upon myself.

I've gradually put less and less pressure on myself. I've slowed the pace of my life down a whole bunch so I can actually breathe. It's actually helped me more to do that than to spend my entire day trying to improve myself. It's helped me see myself for what I really am, which has given me good insight into what is actually going to make me more content.

My suggestion? Put the clock in a place where you can't see it and take longer lunch breaks.

Edit: My obsession with time also had a lot to do with a deeply-rooted psychological imperative to prove myself to those around me that I wasn't inadequate. Maybe that isn't you, but it certainly was me. It drove most of what I used to do, and I'm glad I finally figured out why I used to push myself so hard. Like I said, now I can breathe.

[Relvin]

Originally Posted by ScottJMurray

Edit: My obsession with time also had a lot to do with a deeply-rooted psychological imperative to prove myself to those around me that I wasn't inadequate. Maybe that isn't you, but it certainly was me. It drove most of what I used to do, and I'm glad I finally figured out why I used to push myself so hard. Like I said, now I can breathe.

Thanks for the response. I have been thinking about this, and I think that the reason I always check the time might have to do with my years in school. I always left everything until the last minute. If I had a paper that would take 3 days I would ussualy wait until the last 3 days to do it even if I had 2 months to do it. This always seemed to work for me, though it did cause a lot of unecessary stress.

Basicly, I always finished assignments, but I finished them at the last second. In between I would fill my days with non productive pleasure seeking activities. Now it seems with my daily PD and career goals I have been finishing them (which I am quite proud of myself for) but I always finish the last task extremely late in the day. In between tasks and throughout the day I rest quite a bit ...... I think hiding all my clocks could be a very useful expirement. I will feel compelled to do my work because I feel a strong need to finish the tasks and at the same time I will not know how much time I have left to do them all. Hopefully I will find myself finishing early and having the rest of the day to feel good and do whatever I want to.

[nick pagan]

I keep taking breaks and procrastinating because in the moment of trying to do something I find that I cannot do it. This makes me feel bad and I turn away from what it is that I want to do and take a break or indulge in a distraction.

Thorough preparation done before setting out on trying to complete a task within a certain time scale makes the process much much easier. It also allows you to identify the points of perceived impossibility along the way and to resolve them in advance. I find that if I set out to do something without good preparation up front then I quickly encounter small problems that break my concentration and leave me floundering until I knuckle down and get on with them.

Doing work in batches of similar activity is a great way of blasting through a whole load of work but that can only happen after you have prepared yourself so that the whole batch processing method can work.

This article can help you understand what happens when you procrastinate and how to deal very effectively with it. Procrastination

Nick Pagan

[Tristan]

Hello,

Clock (or watch) checking is perfectly acceptable, so long as the act of checking that time does not cause undue stress or become a distraction in and of itself. Personally, I love to keep track of the time I spend on work-related activities because it serves as a great measurement tool for my productivity.

Of course, too much of anything can be bad, or in the wrong context as well, i.e. what would my girlfriend think if I were constantly checking my watch while having a "romantic" dinner? ....not so good to be checking time in that context.

If you find your clock-checking behavior impeding on your life, then perhaps a habit change to reduce that behavior would be wise. But if your clock-checking helps you be more productive and get things done, without causing undue stress, then no harm no foul.

[Jim11]

I don't like to know what time it is when it isn't necessary, because I have some of the same problems you do.

At work I disabled my computer clock, and I just use the one on my phone that I can only read if I focus in on it.

At home I don't have clocks in the areas where I read, watch tv, etc. Kitchen clock, alarm clock, I can check the tv if I want.. small clock in the living room, etc

I don't think there's a problem with getting rid of your watch, computer clock, etc. Just have something accessible for when you need to know what time it is.

I set reminders on my computer that tell me that I need to do something sometimes, so I don't have to keep checking in.

Ask yourself the questions:
am I working on the item that is my number 1 priority right now?
do I need to know the time for any reason in the next little while?

If you answer yes to what you're working on, and no to needing the clock, then you need to stop worrying about how long it's taking and it should be completely fine if you have no clocks visible. Self-pressures like these always used to annoy me, because you would think they are the easiest to get rid of, but they aren't always.