h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Traveller in Time peeking at a colleagues arm
"To be honest I do not have a watch.

I always have to check areas for the best readable clock if I am interested in the time of day or time span with any accuracy. Watch carriers will be surprise how many clocks there are, and perhaps how far they are off.
On the other hand, I can tell the time by the sun with an hour accuracy. I can guess passed time up to an hour, accurate to five minutes.

The only problem remains: what would you like to do with the information.
--During a meeting, you probably ought to be concentrated on the topic, you will not get dismissed if it takes over an hour.
--While waiting for something, no real use either, the event will happen or not no matter how long you have been waiting.
--Any biological process demanding attention? Well, go for it: publical suggest for something to drink, eat or a restroom break, you wil not be the only one."

hello!
I don’t have (or better wear) a watch either! I had one, but then the watchband broke and I never bought a new one. first I always put the watch into my pocket but then the battery was dead and I never changed it. this is nearly three years ago - same day as my cat died. sometimes life can be really odd…

and now I’m an “Australian” – I catch myself trying to read other people’s watches all the time, especially during lectures.
and yes, there’re indeed a lot of clocks in public places… a "watchless" life would be pretty hard without them! unfortunately I haven’t learned to “read” the sun yet. maybe I should join some scouts-group… I’m sure they’re able to do it!

kat

I stopped wearing a watch around 15 years ago after reading an article in a magazine about how the watch gives us an illusion of control when in reality, it tends to increase our anxiety and feeling of powerlessness. The utter (some might say absurd) ubiquity of time-keeping devices makes wearing a watch practically redundant. Very few of us have a true vital need to know at any given instant exactly what time it is. And it's not like the universe is going to come apart at the seams because you got back from your lunch break 30 seconds late.

Punctuality is a virtue - in many Northern Hemisphere societies, at least - but we can develop it with good habits and planning ahead, not just by shackling our wrists as an emblem of slavery to Time. In fact, there seems to be a certain futility in checking the time frequently, or at least a diminishing marginal return, as the more frequently we check what time it is, the less time we spend doing the things we think we value.

If we learned to pay attention to and understand the languages and rhythms of our bodies and Nature, they will "tell the time" to us when we really need to know. I suspect that people who are highly successful in fields where punctuality is critical have become so not because they're watching the time all the time, but rather because they are highly disciplined and in tune with their inner timekeeper.

So, if you think you're a watch-a-holic, take it one step at a time, one second at a time if you must, and experience the exhiliration of liberation. Start by just carrying the watch in purse or pocket, then graduate to leaving it in the car or at home or in the office while out on a short errand. Develop routines and use them as your measures of time, such as how long it takes to get from your front door to the bus stop. Stick with a "watch-less" existence for thirty days (loads of calendars everywhere will tell you when that happens) and one day you might find that you can't remember the last time you worried about the time.

Although I haven't worn a watch for a few years now, I've recently discovered that cellphones tend to have the time on them too.
This said, I still don't use the darn things. Quite often I'll be sitting waiting for a bus or whatever and think "Hm. I wonder what the time is/whether the bus is late/whether I'll be late/etc."
And then I'll realise that there's no point in me hauling my cellphone out of my pocket (which never wants to let it go), because it won't matter what time it is. The bus will still be there at the same time, no matter whether I know what that time is or not. If I'm late, I won't be any later for knowing - unless I trip over while staring at my phone and break my leg and go to hospital.

So, I don't bother.