So the clocks changed again last night because of daylight saving time and we find ourselves up and about on a Sunday an hour earlier than last week, Why? What can we usefully do with this extra time – apart from ignoring it till Monday? Well given that we all have 86,400 seconds of time everyday I guess it depends on how many of those seconds are yours to choose what to do with.
The British summertime clock change from what I can find, came about in the days before electric light was available to all. It meant that more use of the natural light could be made by farmers and other outdoor workers giving them an extra hour in the day to toil in the fields – thanks! This is the new economy for god’s sake !
Does Daylight Saving Time Help You in Any Way?
I would suggest though that nowadays so much traditional work of this kind is either gone or is automated to such an extent that this extra hour of daylight saving time isn’t worth that much to us. What it means is that your body clock is knocked for six until you get used to effectively getting up an hour sooner. If you work long hours in the traditional economy this just isn’t funny anymore. If you don’t then it actually doesn’t matter in the slightest.
Old Fashioned Nonsense In The new Economy
The plus of course is that when the clocks go back for the start of winter then the opposite is true. Much easier to get used to what seems like an extra hour in bed. The whole thing has always been and always will be controversial. I personally think its just another example of an old fashioned system that in our new economy and digital world is becoming more and more redundant with every passing year.
As someone who works online the time is largely irrelevant – one of the many things that attracted me to this way of living n the first place. I don’t need an extra hour of light if I happen to be in the UK – my marketplace is the world. I’m not confined to a specific work pattern that is dictated by sunlight and I actually doubt that many people are no matter what they do for living.
Like most things that have become ingrained over many years though, it’s difficult to shift away from them. These anachronistic old customs, beliefs and systems, like daylight saving time, may have had a place in an older world but they are well past their sell by date now. We just don’t need to have this stuff forced upon us anymore.
Well, as I say it doesn’t really affect me anymore other than as a minor inconvenience: Having to go around the house changing all the clocks twice a year. Being forced out of bed earlier than necessary because my partner’s business does rely on what time it is to some extent.
Times Have Changed (Pun Intended)
If I have a point here it’s really just that daylight saving is another hang over from an old economic system that looks even sillier as a result. When so many people make a living online in the new economy, a system that was devised to suit an age that used the horse and cart for transport, and tilled the fields manually is just daft.
Anyway I’m off now to fulfil an other ancient custom – Mother’s day ! This one has some merit however (although like valentines and father’s day it’s annoying to be told which day is to be used to demonstrate your love for your nearest ad dearest) I was up an hour early this morning anyway thanks to daylight saving time so at least I got some work done first LOL !