# How much time do you waste changing your clocks? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 2, 2008, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-do-you-waste-changing-your-clocks/470697 "2008-11-02T08:13:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-do-you-waste-changing-your-clocks/470697/1 "2008-11-02T08:13:18Z")
It took me half an hour today to reset all the watches and clocks in my home to conform to this archaic government-mandated ritual. So, in the course of a year, I figure I completely lose the hour I am supposed to “save”. ---
**Author:** ![nonacetone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonacetone/32/2819_2.png) [@nonacetone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nonacetone)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-do-you-waste-changing-your-clocks/470697/2 "2008-11-02T08:34:56Z")
I didn’t do it. I forgot. I had every intention of doing it, but, alas. It just didn’t happen. It completely slipped my little, warped mind for some reason. I awoke at 3:30am this morning, only to sit down at my computer to find that it was, in reality, only 2:30am. This is really going to mess up my pathetic, so-called ‘sleep schedule’, you know. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-do-you-waste-changing-your-clocks/470697/3 "2008-11-02T09:09:33Z")
We started daylight saving time four weeks ago. I suppose it took me about five minutes or so to change the clocks and my watch. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-do-you-waste-changing-your-clocks/470697/4 "2008-11-02T12:14:55Z")
Very little. My computer and my cell phone change themselves, I don’t have a watch, and my car’s clock is easy to change. This year, stuff like the stove are not my responsibility, but in years when it has been, it has not been that big a deal. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-do-you-waste-changing-your-clocks/470697/5 "2008-11-02T12:19:08Z")
> [@The\_Controvert](#): > > It took me half an hour today to reset all the watches and clocks in my home to conform to this archaic government-mandated ritual. So, in the course of a year, I figure I completely lose the hour I am supposed to “save”. How many timepieces do you have?! My watch is fiddly, because you have to press tiny buttons on the side. But my two clocks both have large buttons (to change the time and set the alarm)and like Eureka my computers do it automatically. Just a few minutes in all. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-do-you-waste-changing-your-clocks/470697/6 "2008-11-02T12:30:14Z")
I am still changing all my clocks and hope to finish by March. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-do-you-waste-changing-your-clocks/470697/7 "2008-11-02T13:00:12Z")
\>I figure I completely lose the hour I am supposed to “save”. What hour are you supposed to save? Changing the clocks in alternate directions twice a year isn’t supposed to gain anybody an hour. It probably takes 10 minutes to run around the house changing all these things. What takes more effort is tracking down all the timekeeping services embedded in various lab and industrial computers I work with, some of which automatically make the change but on the wrong date, so they have to go through two automatic plus four manual changes per year. If the sentiment of the OP includes doing away with all this, I agree! ---
**Author:** ![tetranz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@tetranz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tetranz)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-do-you-waste-changing-your-clocks/470697/8 "2008-11-02T13:04:46Z")
Absolutely no time at all. I got up this morning to go to yoga at 8:30. Then I remembered that maybe daylight saving just ended and maybe I had another hour. It took me a while to realize that my bedside clock radio, watch and computer had all silently changed and the extra hour had already passed. My only connection to the real world was that it was lighter outside. Somehow a little bit scary … ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-do-you-waste-changing-your-clocks/470697/9 "2008-11-02T13:40:38Z")
just switched one clock and changed one clock. i do my watches as i wear them. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-do-you-waste-changing-your-clocks/470697/10 "2008-11-02T13:42:49Z")
About 5 minutes: 1 coffeemaker, one microwave, and one bedroom alarm clock. I’ll spend another minute or so later today to reset the car while I’m driving. Everything else is either smart enough to reset itself, or I don’t care what time it thinks it is. I went to reset the clock in the TV and found that it had been reset to Off by some power failure in the last year. Never noticed it, so apparantly I don’t need it. So Off it stayed. I do find that having every electronc gadget offer a clock for no real reason except to keep the display occupied when not in use to be a PITA. So there are bunches of tiny, useless, wrong clocks embedded around the house. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-do-you-waste-changing-your-clocks/470697/11 "2008-11-02T13:43:07Z")
Almost none. Maybe 2 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a8b319/32.png) [@ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryan)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-do-you-waste-changing-your-clocks/470697/12 "2008-11-02T14:14:16Z")
About 2 minutes. PC, cell phone and cable TV box all took care of themselves, leaving only my daily wear wrist watch, my dress watch and my alarm clock. Never bothered to set the clocks on my stove or microwave in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-do-you-waste-changing-your-clocks/470697/13 "2008-11-02T14:30:01Z")
I’ll spend maybe a minute each on the stove and alarm clock. The computers, cell phones and cable box changed themselves and the only two manually-set clocks that matter are the stove and the alarm clock. Oh, and my car, which is another minute. Robin ---
**Author:** ![Karyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/fbc32d/32.png) [@Karyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karyn)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-do-you-waste-changing-your-clocks/470697/14 "2008-11-02T14:40:35Z")
I forgot all about it and got up at 4 A.M. I hate this. It just took 30 seconds to reset the coffee maker. Everything else can wait until I after I drink the whole pot. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-do-you-waste-changing-your-clocks/470697/15 "2008-11-02T14:44:22Z")
My watch is the only one that doesn’t change itself. I don’t keep the microwave plugged in except when I’m using it, or I’d have to change it too. It took me about ten seconds to change my watch. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-do-you-waste-changing-your-clocks/470697/16 "2008-11-02T14:46:56Z")
> [@The\_Controvert](#): > > It took me half an hour today to reset all the watches and clocks in my home to conform to this archaic government-mandated ritual. So, in the course of a year, I figure I completely lose the hour I am supposed to “save”. How many clocks do you have? It took me less than a minute as I have only one clock that doesn’t reset itself. I suppose it is “government mandated,” though I can’t see why that’s a bad thing; But how is saving energy and having more daylight during waking hours “archaic?” ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-do-you-waste-changing-your-clocks/470697/17 "2008-11-02T14:47:03Z")
Maybe 2 minutes. We’ve only got 2 wall clocks that need manual resetting. I never set the clock on the microwave or the stove because the power goes out so much in there I’d be resetting it all the time. We spent another 10 or so worrying about whether the alarm clocks reset themselves or we had to manually switch off the “DST” setting, because my husband had to be up for a job interview this morning and he is NOT a morning person - without the alarm, he will not wake up. We haven’t had those alarm clocks for a switch yet, so we weren’t sure. We also just got our cellphones, so while we thought they would switch automatically, we weren’t sure either, so we had no alarm we could absolutely count on. I tried taking one clock off DST, but couldn’t figure out how to do so. Finally he decided that missing the convention breakfast \*before \*the interview wouldn’t be the end of the world, so he just set his alarm as normal. And, as it happened, the clock reset itself, the alarm rang at the right time, and all is right with the world. Now let’s hope he’s kicking ass at that interview! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-do-you-waste-changing-your-clocks/470697/18 "2008-11-02T14:52:14Z")
None. Arizona doesn’t observe DST. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-do-you-waste-changing-your-clocks/470697/19 "2008-11-02T14:57:05Z")
Bedroom alarm clocks - done. Programmable thermostat - done. Stove - done. Microwave - done. Analogue wall clock - done. Still to do: Water softener. Coffee maker. Cars. 2 Stereos. Total for all and pending: 10 minutes? ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-do-you-waste-changing-your-clocks/470697/20 "2008-11-02T15:18:24Z")
> [@The\_Controvert](#): > > It took me half an hour today to reset all the watches and clocks in my home to conform to this archaic government-mandated ritual. So, in the course of a year, I figure I completely lose the hour I am supposed to “save”. We don’t save anything. I want to go back to Daylight Wasting Time and stay there! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-do-you-waste-changing-your-clocks/470697.md?page=2)