Why Do You Look at Your Watch?

James and I were talking, right before going to sleep last night, and I got to thinking about watches. I have noticed that sometimes when someone asks me what the date is, I sometimes glance at my watch. Not so strange, you might think, since calendar watches have existed for many years. The thing is, I have never owned or worn one. Every watch I have ever had has just told the time. I know I am not the only one to do this either. I have seen many people do the same thing.

Here is a question that might sound easy. Why do you look at your watch? I'm sure your first thought was that it is to see what time it is. I read something many years ago that showed that this is not the whole truth.

Try this. As soon as someone looks at his or her watch, ask him or her what time it is. Odds are, he or she will look at the watch again. Why? The reason is that we do not really look at our watches to see what time it is. We look at our watches to see how long until the bus is due, how long until the kids come home from school, how long it has been since we ate. Although we are literally looking at the time on our watches, we are really managing our time.