WatchFree

This had been a monumental feat for me. It feels like this is small to others, but it was so hard that I had to leave a habit I had for almost 20 years. This isn't even a change in my daily life which brought in an amazing change, but a tiny step. Not wearing a watch.

I have a habit of always wearing a watch (even while asleep). I don't even remember when this had started as I remember this as far as my memory goes. It had started as a liking towards the watch's designs in general, growing into an interest in technologies and intricacies of watches. It had grown to the point of me checking for my watch subconsciously every couple of minutes. Watch as a product had become an integral part of my life, which I couldn't live without.

But, I didn't need a watch on me all the time. To be frank, most of us don't need a watch as a product to tell time, as almost all devices around us nowadays give us that info. Phone, Laptop, even a microwave has an option to display time. I have recently understood that I am checking time every couple of minutes just to become anxious about it even when I don't have to. Just looking at the time and thinking of how the day progressed made me anxious on most days. So, I have taken the bold step of getting rid of the watch altogether.

Me working at a software company doesn't rely heavily on time to complete the task The task is to be completed. That's the whole point of it, and I have been concentrating on the time of completion rather than the task itself. Quality went down slowly. So now, I am wholly focusing on tasks. If something is to be done at a particular time of day, I have my colleagues remind me, and my laptop/phone notifies me of any meetings to attend. Even then if I want to know the time, it is only a click away on my laptop. This changed the way I look at the progression of the day.

I am not suggesting everyone to lose their watches, but to lose the thing which makes you anxious. For me, the watch was the one. For you, it could be something else. One of my friends gets anxious looking at a desk he owns. Getting rid of one thing in your daily life for a short span is not a great deal. Give it a try. Let yourself a bit of freedom from it and let your consciousness decide on how to overcome it.

I will definitely go back to wearing watches at some point but as an accessory. This had been an interesting experiment of taking down the wall I have been building for the better part of my life.