Be the Clock's Worst Product

I read an article recently that claims people have become the product of the clock - I agree.

The clock is a completely unnatural form of technology that we use to dictate the order and schedule of our supposedly natural lives. We use the clock to tell us what time to wake up, go to sleep, catch the bus, go to work, and so on. We let the clock determine whether or not we have time to grab food or hang out with friends and how quickly we need to rush certain activities.

Furthermore, we even let the clock determine our self-worth from time to time. And this is where the product metaphor, or not so much of a metaphor as it is truth, really hits home. When we are taking time for ourselves to relax, watch a show, scroll on our phone, take a nap, or eat some snacks, many times, we cannot thoroughly enjoy these breaks because of the clock. The clock makes these moments of relaxation feel like counterproductive wastes of time. It's as if we are always on the clock. Rather than actually relaxing, we are checking the time and taking note of how many minutes or, more realistically, hours we have "wasted" not working or getting anything on our to do lists done.

On one hand, it makes sense that we need a clock. Our entire society functions by the use of the clock, but that is exactly my point. The clock has created our society, and although we may not be able to function properly in our society without the use of one, we can recognize the power that the clock has over us and try to loosen its grip on our lives when possible.

(Pinterest)

I think it is important that we try to change this mindset and our behaviors. When we decide we need to relax, whether it's for a short period in the middle of our day or if it's taking the whole weekend, we need to clock out. We need to listen to our bodies, our physical and mental health, and let these natural things determine our actions rather than the unnatural clock. If you have a day off, don't let the clock tell you when to wake up; let the sun or your body make that decision. If you sleep in, then your body needed it. If you wake up early, your mind was ready to be awake. On top of this, we also need to break the habit of condemning ourselves for something as simple as sleeping in. Often, it is easy to let this behavior make you feel guilty and like you need to catch up and work harder the rest of the day, but there is no reason we need to make up for this lack of productivity. We are not a product, so why are we acting like one?

I do not want to spend my life working half of the time while wanting to be relaxing, and the other half of the time, relaxing while feeling bad about not working. Maybe by changing our mindset and behaviors as previously proposed, this problem will be fixed. If we take a break from the clock when we relax and actually let our minds take the time off, we might have more energy to work, and we might dread work a little less. I believe making these changes could have a major effect on our ability to be happy and enjoy our life. So, I encourage you to be the clock's worst product. It may be impossible to cut the clock out of our lives completely, but we can be conscious about prioritizing our mind and body over the clock and whether or not we let the clock affect our self-worth.