A Matter of Time
Okay, so this is embarrassing to admit, but this blog post took me three months to complete. It wasn't a matter of effort or ability, it was just a matter of time. Despite my best intentions, I never could seem to find the time to get the shots and write the words so I could tell the story I wanted. The irony is this post is also about a watch— the very symbol of time itself!
This content isn't sponsored, but in late June the folks at Nordgreen were kind enough to reach out and ask if I wanted to try a product from their line of sustainable watches. Since I didn't wear a watch at the time and was in the market for one, I agreed to give it a try. After touring through Scandinavia on a work trip in 2016 I'd developed a love for simple, classic aesthetic of Norwegian design. I chose the Infinity Women's rose gold watch with a 32mm mesh band (I have thin wrists).
The watch arrived in early July and admittedly sat in its packaging for most of this pandemic—at a time during which I changed jobs, moved into a new apartment, and, like the rest of us, struggled to accept this new reality. And despite my best efforts, I just couldn't seem to find the time...
Then I started to wear the watch. Up until then, I'd relied on my iPhone or the digital clock on my stove to let me know the time, but now I was looking at an analog watch face, and something in me shifted. Suddenly, I found myself finding time to complete tasks which had sat on my to-do list for months. Just do it, my mind told me, like the popular trademark.
I think it has something to do with spatial recognition vs. mental recognition. When you look at an traditional watch with a face, your day is divided into hours, minutes, and seconds. You can see where you are relative to other times of the day, and how much time is left until the hour is over. This was unlike my experience with digital watches, which simply show you four numbers out of context and unrelated to other numbers/times.
This also accompanied a mental mantra I was trying to incorporate into my life:
There is enough time, and it is always now.
The first part, "There is enough time," is my way of directly opposing the rush-out-the-door, not-enough-hours-in-the-day mentality. The truth is, you, me and Beyonce have the same 24 hours in a day. It's about making time for what's important. The second part, "it is always now," is a reminder to stay present. Becuase when, after all, is it ever not now?
To learn more about Nordgreen's watches for men and women, follow the link to their website. You can also check out this interesting article from ABC on how digital watches are changing our perception of time.