Clock free day.
“Only when the clock stops does time come to life.”
– William Faulkner
THE LOWDOWN
When was the last time you spent a whole day without looking at the clock once? This wonderful device popularised in the middle ages by time-anxious monks has made it possible to synchronise human activity, but it has done so at the cost of dissociating it from the organic patterns of life.
We were not born with a watch on our wrist or alarm clocks by our bedside, but we did get a natural clock. It’s about time to get it working!
For this week’s practice we propose you plan for one day (it doesn’t have to be this week if it doesn’t work for you, but make sure you pick a date!) where you do not, not once, look at the time and practice listening to your body instead: Wake up when your eyes pop open, eat when you’re hungry, and do whatever activity you feel like doing for as long as you want to do it simply because you can.
WHY IS IT GOOD?
Feel free: everyday of our lives we follow this artificial system that has been imposed upon us, so go ahead and get in touch with some of that ancestral freedom!
Connect with your body: get to know your body a bit better by paying attention to its needs and learn about your internal clock, circadian rhythm and homeostasis so you can learn to better fit different activities to different times of the day.
Better sleep: There are clear patterns of brain wave activity, hormone production, cell regeneration and other biological activities linked to your daily sleep-wake cycles, not forcing them allows for your body to self-regulate smoothly.
Better connection with nature: by paying more attention to the light and the position of the sun, your surroundings, etc. you will get more in tune with nature.
SOME IDEAS
Diving into the void of life without a clock can be a bit unnerving and even disorienting, so here are a few things you can do:
Read. Eat. Sleep. Hike. Play. Eat again. Watch a movie. Talk. Sing. Listen. Drive along sinuous roads in the countryside...
In short: Do whatever activity you want. Just don’t look at the clock.
You may need to prepare a little so if you’re meeting friends or family, warn them about your shenanigans, and ask them to hide any visible clocks and refrain from mentioning the time out loud. Or encourage them to do the same!
If you can’t get enough of the internal clock life find out more about chronobiology, you can pay a visit to Bad Kissingen in Germany.
EXTRA BROWNIE POINTS
Do it on a work day and please, PLEASE tell us how it went!
Enjoy your day free from mechanical time constraints!
Vero and Enrique
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