I've been wearing my watch less and less as of late.
Initially, leaving my watch off my wrist was common-sense related. I was often engaged in tasks or activities where wearing the watch was either foolish or cumbersome and so I would remove it frequently. After about a week of this new routine, I began finding that I was forgetting to put the watch on my wrist first thing in the morning. My morning routine of adding the final touches of earrings and watch had been broken and I would later discover that I had simply forgotten to reach for my timepiece. As the days passed by, I discovered that - for the most part - I did not miss having a portable clock on my wrist. Almost every room in my condo, as well as both vehicles, has a clock embedded in something so there is no trouble telling what time it is.
But.......wearing a watch is a life-long habit for many of us and that 'phantom' watch on my left wrist is a hard habit to break. This is particularly obvious when I am in an activity that requires rapt attention to a schedule and adhering to that schedule. If I were still in the classroom, I'd be sporting a timepiece because there are too many times (pun unintended) that a teacher's back may be to the clock, depending on its positioning. If I am leading a group music rehearsal of any kind, be it choral or instrumental, I constantly rely on knowing how much time has elapsed and how much is left. Chairing a meeting also requires an attention to a schedule so that those in attendance do not feel as if their time has been wasted.
I know many individuals, now, who do not wear watches, but depend, instead, on their cell phones to let them know what time of day it is. This is fine for those who have jobs where they are in isolation or semi-isolation but if you are leading in front of a group, pulling out your cell phone before the group's members would be considered an act of affrontal and rudeness.
I have been enjoying the psychological freedom associated with not being a slave to my watch, but I think I will need to return to chronological slavery soon. I find that, in rehearsals with my choir, I am constantly whipping my wrist out of my sleeve and looking down at my.....bare wrist. In the split second where I realize, "Duh, there is no watch to see!", I quickly pull my sleeve back over my wrist and look sheepishly about, hoping that no one has seen my fruitless gesture.
My wrist can still sense my phantom watch. In fact, it is telling me, at this very moment, that it is time to stop blathering on about phantom watches.
Ancora imparo
