Here in Texas, like many other parts of the United States, we just changed our clocks Sunday morning for Daylight Savings Time. (Many other parts of the world will adjust their clocks this year a bit later in March.) There are three clocks in my kitchen, built into the coffeepot, microwave, and oven. Before I went to bed Saturday night, I reset the coffeepot clock for Daylight Savings Time, and planned to adjust the rest of the clocks the next day. After I went to bed, my partner reset the oven clock — but in the wrong direction, setting it an hour backwards instead of forwards. The microwave clock stayed the same, on Saturday’s time.
So when I let the dogs out early Sunday morning, I walked into the kitchen and saw three different times displayed. For a brief hilarious moment, I had no idea of what the “correct” time was.
What we consider to be “correct” time is relative, of course, and the time changes in spring and fall always bring that to the foreground. The sun doesn’t change when it rises, but we just change our way of thinking about when that happens. We recalibrate our clocks and over a few days our internal sense of what 2:00 pm looks like adjusts.
It always takes me a couple of days to adjust to one of these time changes — and apparently I’m not alone. Some epidemiological studies have found a higher rate of traffic accidents on the Monday following the “spring forward,” which are generally attributed to the loss of an hour’s sleep. But even if you sleep in a bit on Sunday to catch up the hour, resetting your clocks can make you feel a bit confused or “off” for a couple of days until your internal sense of what time it is adjusts to match the the new clock setting.
As frustrating as these clock changes can be, they can also be a good reminder to pause and recalibrate things in general. Many people use the time change as a reminder to change the batteries in their home smoke detectors and for other routine maintenance. This year, for the next couple of days, while I’m adjusting to the new clock setting, I’m also going to be checking some other, internal calibrations. These questions for reflection can help you assess and reset your goals and choices for the months ahead:
am I making progress towards my main goals for this year?
am I feeling healthy?
am I happy and fulfilled?
Gently exploring these questions can point out where you might want to recalibrate something in your work or personal life as we head towards spring.