Time to on time is important too

The alarm clock fascinates me. Such a common thing in the lives of so many. But consider the complexity of the relationship! Sure it's a very helpful and useful device for helping you get to where you need to go, on time. But have experienced that dread, when already awake early for some reason staring at those red numbers.

And there is that flashing dot...inexorable. You watch it, flash, flash, flash. And every once in awhile, one of those red numbers will change. And you know you're running out of time. Soon enough? The alarm WILL go off. Oh, unless you just go ahead and cut it off, since you're already awake.

So many need to be at work at a certain time where I don't think the time needed to get there on time should be taken for granted. And it's fascinating to me that work that needs to go into being at your workplace by, for instance, 9 am, or often earlier I'm sure. Actually don't think I ever had a job where that was the start time, was always earlier.

The phrase "working 9 to 5" is something I grew up with but I've never worked that schedule.

In any event if you were supposed to be someplace at a particular time there is that reality of what has to happen for that to always happen, which of course is, you get there before.

And consider what that can take! And it's best when you get credit for it.

For me better were jobs where I was expected to be there within a roughly half hour window.

So, for instance, might get to work ten minutes after. No big deal. Or ten minutes before. Also no big deal. And it took a lot of pressure off. Oddly enough, found I didn't need the snooze button on my alarm.

Lots of times would actually wake up, just before the alarm went off, and just go ahead and cut it off, without the blaring.

Would tend to get up comfortable. Step through a relaxed morning routine. Make the bus, and get to work, usually within the window.

If outside of it, they didn't care about that either within reason. Could call ahead. And would just work a little later to make up for it. Of course that required a job where none of that interfered with the actual work.

In the past I think the idea that you should be at work at a very precise time could be considered just the price you paid. But in our time I think more and more it will be considered an exceptional something for which you should be paid.


James Harris