PPB April 2021

Elias argues in his book Time: An Essay that people began to require more precise clocks and more accurate records because individual schedules were becoming intertwined with other networks of people. “In people’s experience, the immediate present—that which is here and now—stands out more sharply than either past or future. Human actions, too, tend to be more highly centered on present needs and impulses,” says Elias. To be in sync with the rest of the world, tracking what others are doing and when they are doing it is crucial. The alarm clock has been helping people stay on schedule, waking them up for work and school, since the 16th century. Despite its rude awakening, the alarm clock is essential when you’ve got a flight to catch or a test to take. Today’s alarm clocks are multi-functional, combining different features like a Bluetooth speaker or a wireless charging station into one all- purpose product. While most people use a sound-based alarm, studies find that it’s best to naturally wake up or to at least use a light-based alarm clock. The human body is remarkably sensitive to light and dark; our bodies cue the release of hormones associated with wakefulness in bright environments and sleepiness in dark environments. According to the Sleep Station, a light-based alarm clock is a more natural alternative to a sound- based alarm clock. Light-based alarm clocks typically work by raising the intensity of the light they emit shortly before the desired waking time to mimic the effect of a rising sun, giving a more gradual “waking up” process that is more in tune with the natural sleep cycle. Sound-based alarm clocks shock users into wakefulness. When users wake up this way, they can experience sleep inertia—feeling groggy, disoriented and in a bad mood. Waking up with light instead can cause users to feel more alert, enhance mood and lead to better memory and concentration throughout the day. Before the first alarm clock was invented in 1787, people were using creative ways to drag themselves out of bed in the morning. From professional human alarm clocks called “Knocker uppers” who would tap on their customers’ bedroom windows until they were assured the person was awake, to Native American warriors who could determine, in advance, their hour of rising by regulating the amount of water they drank before going to bed, alarm clocks have taken many different shapes and forms. For the hourly worker, time determines pay. Most of the business world continues to bill work using manual, memory- based time tracking which, according to an article in Harvard Business Review, is costing the U.S. economy $7.4 billion a day. A recent study from AffinityLive, a company that specializes in professional services automation, surveyed 500 workers and found that each person lost $50,000 per year in revenue due to insufficient tracking of emails with clients and others. Manual time-tracking, riddled with error and guesstimation, does not accurately represent time spent working. Although we are born with internal clocks, human cognitive processing, unlike a computer, needs regular downtime, while manual time tracking requires constant attention for accuracy. The human brain doesn’t even process event duration uniformly. Time can be elastically sped up and slowed down depending on our emotional state, and the amount of new or important information we encounter warps our perception of how much time we spend on a task. Detailed time tracking is a doomed task and a design failure that does not reflect how our brains work. Many professionals have begun to realize this and have started automating their time tracking. Instead of using timers or spreadsheets, they use secure software or leverage AI to meticulously record the time spent on documents, tasks, apps and websites. Time is our most valuable commodity, anchoring people to the present. People will continue to use time to guide their daily activities and commune with others, making time products ever- present and relentlessly of the essence for every end user. | APRIL 2021 | 45 GROW