Learning the Time
I'm trying to learn what time it is.
Now this is not easy, because the time keeps changing, and anyway the clocks went forward and confused me.
But I usually have a reasonably good idea of what time it is, and from time to time I practise this a bit to see if I can get it right.
Usually, if it's the kind of day when I'm working, which it often is, then my guesses are pretty near: I'm ususally about five or ten minutes fast.
If it's the kind of day when time doesn't matter - which it rarely is, on a weekday - then I tend to lose track a bit but can usually get it to the nearest half-hour.
But, of course, I don't know how I do it.
If I'm asleep, I can do it perfectly. If I set the alarm for, say, half-past seven, and I know I must get up then, then I will wake up promptly at twenty-five past (still five minutes fast, I notice). I have always been able to do that thing where you bang your head on the pillow six times to wake up at six o'clock. I can generally do it just by thinking "six o'clock" to myself very firmly.
However, my subconscious seems to know if I really have to get up then, or if I'm just thinking hey, I'd better get up early and do some dusting. My subconscious doesn't care about dusting. It just says no. It keeps me asleep. If I don't really have to get up - just feel that I should get up - I will sleep through any alarm.
I do wonder where I get this sense of the time from. I suppose everyone has it, to a greater or lesser extent. I'm not sure whether it can be improved by practising, because I'm not sure how I judge it in the first place. Does anyone know?
Now this is not easy, because the time keeps changing, and anyway the clocks went forward and confused me.
But I usually have a reasonably good idea of what time it is, and from time to time I practise this a bit to see if I can get it right.
Usually, if it's the kind of day when I'm working, which it often is, then my guesses are pretty near: I'm ususally about five or ten minutes fast.
If it's the kind of day when time doesn't matter - which it rarely is, on a weekday - then I tend to lose track a bit but can usually get it to the nearest half-hour.
But, of course, I don't know how I do it.
If I'm asleep, I can do it perfectly. If I set the alarm for, say, half-past seven, and I know I must get up then, then I will wake up promptly at twenty-five past (still five minutes fast, I notice). I have always been able to do that thing where you bang your head on the pillow six times to wake up at six o'clock. I can generally do it just by thinking "six o'clock" to myself very firmly.
However, my subconscious seems to know if I really have to get up then, or if I'm just thinking hey, I'd better get up early and do some dusting. My subconscious doesn't care about dusting. It just says no. It keeps me asleep. If I don't really have to get up - just feel that I should get up - I will sleep through any alarm.
I do wonder where I get this sense of the time from. I suppose everyone has it, to a greater or lesser extent. I'm not sure whether it can be improved by practising, because I'm not sure how I judge it in the first place. Does anyone know?
posted by Daphne at 9:28 pm
2 Comments:
I'm not sure.
Interestingly, I heard once of an experiment keeping people from all outside influences including light levels in which the subjects set up a 25-hour day.
Perhaps that's why we never get it *quite* right - we expect the day to be a bit longer than it is.
I've been trying the "wake up at this point" idea recently. Sometimes it works. Other times (like this morning) I wake up at 2am and 5am as well.
Julie paradox
I usually have no concept of the correct time of day, moreover, usually I just really don't care what the clock says. Retirement is great for my affliction. I think that's the main reason oldies eat their evening meal at 4PM. They just don't know it's not really 6PM! Hmmmm does anybody really know what time it is? Now you've got me thinking of every time related quote I've ever heard!
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