Patrick
New member
- Joined
- Aug 13, 2008
- Messages
- 129
- MBTI Type
- INFP
- Enneagram
- 5
- Instinctual Variant
- sx
I suppose everybody loses track of time now and then, but with me it's chronic--and there seems to be a pattern to it. So, I'm wondering about it.
1. Is it just me?
2. Would personality type tie in with the pattern?
3. Is there a cure other than just looking at the clock more often?
Here's my pattern:
When I'm at work or doing anything scheduled, I keep pretty good track of time. I'll be working and think, Feels like it's about time for morning break; then I'll glance at the clock, and sure enough, it's quarter to ten or so.
But on my days off, when little or nothing is scheduled, my wife will ask what time it is, and I'll go look at a clock and exclaim, "Three o'clock? No way! I would have guessed one o'clock." And it has been that way for decades. If I don't pay attention, it's always just about two hours later than I think it is.
A hypothesis of mine is that it's because I grew up in California, lived there until I was thirty-one, and then moved to the Central time zone--where it's two hours later than on the Pacific coast. Is it possible that my mind and body are so conditioned to Pacific time that even after three decades my subconscious clock is still set to that standard?
Another thing I notice as I grow older is that days, weeks, months, and years pass by a lot more quickly and slip by without my realizing it. When I was a child, a year seemed like a vast stretch of time--a whole school year was practically forever. Today, if someone reminds me of an event from five or ten years ago, we might as well be talking about yesterday. When I applied for a job in 1981 and they told me I'd have to make a two-year commitment, I hesitated; I was reluctant to tie up that much of my life at a job that was just supposed to tide me over for a while. If I applied for a job today and was asked if I could stay two years, I'd say I hope to stay a lot longer than that; two years seems like a short time now.
Each year of the 1960s seems very distinct to me (I started high school in 1969). The 1970s blend together, and I can only distinguish between "early 70s" and "late 70s." After that, the 1980s to the present is just one blur of time; if you named a popular song or TV show, I wouldn't be able to say whether it was from the 1980s, 1990s, or 2000s.
Anyway, enough about me. Here comes the discussion question: How good are you at keeping track of time? Do you think the ability to keep track of time--or the tendency to lose track--is related to personality type, or to something else?
1. Is it just me?
2. Would personality type tie in with the pattern?
3. Is there a cure other than just looking at the clock more often?
Here's my pattern:
When I'm at work or doing anything scheduled, I keep pretty good track of time. I'll be working and think, Feels like it's about time for morning break; then I'll glance at the clock, and sure enough, it's quarter to ten or so.
But on my days off, when little or nothing is scheduled, my wife will ask what time it is, and I'll go look at a clock and exclaim, "Three o'clock? No way! I would have guessed one o'clock." And it has been that way for decades. If I don't pay attention, it's always just about two hours later than I think it is.
A hypothesis of mine is that it's because I grew up in California, lived there until I was thirty-one, and then moved to the Central time zone--where it's two hours later than on the Pacific coast. Is it possible that my mind and body are so conditioned to Pacific time that even after three decades my subconscious clock is still set to that standard?
Another thing I notice as I grow older is that days, weeks, months, and years pass by a lot more quickly and slip by without my realizing it. When I was a child, a year seemed like a vast stretch of time--a whole school year was practically forever. Today, if someone reminds me of an event from five or ten years ago, we might as well be talking about yesterday. When I applied for a job in 1981 and they told me I'd have to make a two-year commitment, I hesitated; I was reluctant to tie up that much of my life at a job that was just supposed to tide me over for a while. If I applied for a job today and was asked if I could stay two years, I'd say I hope to stay a lot longer than that; two years seems like a short time now.
Each year of the 1960s seems very distinct to me (I started high school in 1969). The 1970s blend together, and I can only distinguish between "early 70s" and "late 70s." After that, the 1980s to the present is just one blur of time; if you named a popular song or TV show, I wouldn't be able to say whether it was from the 1980s, 1990s, or 2000s.
Anyway, enough about me. Here comes the discussion question: How good are you at keeping track of time? Do you think the ability to keep track of time--or the tendency to lose track--is related to personality type, or to something else?