I always find myself slightly amazed at how our mind and body work together to manage time. In my opinion, our internal clocks work much better than any watch or digital alarm.

Even though I set three different alarms on my phone each night, I really don’t need to. I just take those measures because I am a tad paranoid. You see, it doesn’t matter if it is a Tuesday or Sunday, my body will wake me up at 5:10 a.m. (although on Sundays I will choose to go right back to sleep). But if I wanted to adjust my internal clock 20 minutes one way or the other I could. I am able to simply tell myself the night before that I want to get up at 5:30 a.m. and just like “clockwork” it happens.

The way our bodies and minds manage time goes way beyond dictating when we get up. For example, I know exactly how long it will take me to complete my workout routines. I follow the same regimen on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I have a different routine on Tuesday and Thursday. On the MWF days, it takes me 75 minutes to complete my exercise; on Tuesday and Thursday it takes me 67 minutes. I lift weights, run on the track, and do body-resistance exercises so I have no timers set for me. I just naturally go through my workout and depending on what day it is I finish at the exact same time. With so many factors at the gym that could play into varying the time of each workout, it never does for me. I don’t look at the clock at all until I complete my exercise but I always manage to finish at the same time.

I am also able to pinpoint with great accuracy how long it will take me to do a random set of tasks. For example, if Sidney asked me what time I planned to go over to her house on a Tuesday evening as I was driving home from work, my mind immediately goes to work. It adds up the drive to my apartment, how long it will take me to eat dinner, my shower time, my blogging activities, the drive to Sidney’s house, etc. It then spits out an arrival time that is usually spot on. So for example, if I am talking to Sidney at 5:15 p.m. I can add up the numbers and tell her with great confidence that I will be walking through her door at 7:45 p.m.

One thing I am HORRENDOUS at doing is estimating lengths and distances. Don’t ask me how many feet tall a tree is or how far it is around the block. I am clueless. However, ask me how much time has elapsed and I can give you a respectable estimate. As I never bring my phone inside church, I obviously can’t check the time during mass. This allows me to play a little game with myself on how long the service was. I usually guess within two or three minutes of the actual time (i.e. If the mass was at 10 a.m. I would formulate a guess on what time it was right before I turned on my car and saw the clock. If I projected that the mass lasted an hour and 15 minutes, the clock would most likely read 11:15 a.m. or perhaps 11:14 a.m. or 11:16 a.m.). I can also accurately project the elapse of time for longer events as well, rather it be an athletic contest or a morning hike.

We are all wired to keep time to some degree. Some of us have a little more precision than others but we all have a clock ticking in our heads. Make sure to trust it. Don’t Blink.