Clocks Are Hampering Your Creativity and, More Importantly, Your Happiness

According to new research, clocks, with their never ending ticktock reminding us of the passage of time, may be a terrible instrument to organize our work lives around.

The Atlantic:

These days, the time is everywhere: not just on clocks or watches, but on phones, computers, stamped on every email. And that may be a bad thing, particularly at work. New research shows that clock-based work schedules hinder morale and creativity.

The research of Tamar Avnet and Anne-Laure Sellier focuses on the differences between organizing one’s time by “clock time” vs. “task time.” Clock-timers organize their day by blocks of minutes and hours. For example: a meeting from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., research from 10 a.m. to noon, etc. On the other hand, task-timers have a list of things they want the accomplish. They work down the list, each task starts when the previous task is completed. The researchers say that all of us employ a mix of both these types of planning.

They wanted to know, what are the effects of thinking about time in these different ways? Does one make us more productive? Better at the tasks at hand? Happier? In their experiments, they had participants organize different activities—from project planning, holiday shopping, to yoga—by time or to-do list to measure how they performed under “clock time” vs “task time.” They found clock timers to be more efficient but less happy because they felt little control over their lives. Task timers are happier and more creative, but less productive. They tend to savor the moment when something good is happening, and seize opportunities that come up.

Read more

—Posted by Natasha Hakimi Zapata