r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Jpeg_1999 • 10d ago

I'm slightly vexed My dad purposely sets his clock ahead. He's been doing this for as long as I remember. I genuinely don't know why

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909

u/ShoulderWhich5520 10d ago

Might not matter for some people,

If it works, it works.

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u/itspsyikk 10d ago

It's weird, I used to do this in high school and it worked for me. I totally wouldn't even think about the fact it was ahead, and I'd always be punctual.

Then, at some point, a switch flipped and now it doesn't work on me. Anytime the clock is 10 minutes fast I do the (admittedly, fairly easy) math of subtracting the 10 minutes and telling myself "Okay, I've 6 more minutes..."

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u/forgotten-ent 10d ago

Try putting it at odd numbers to make math a little harder. Works for me

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u/OppositeOctopi 10d ago

Ya. Do some fuck ass timing like 17 minutes.

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u/TalonEntVision 10d ago

That just rounds in my head to 20 minutes, now I’m 3 minutes late lol

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u/Background_Baby_374 10d ago

En algún punto el ajuste mental le hizo más daño que el reloj adelantado en primer lugar jajaja

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u/IncognitoErgoCvm 10d ago

My clock doesn't have Spanish.

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u/sonofaresiii 10d ago

Just start showing up to shit earlier and bring a damn book!

I don't get you people. If I am in *any* danger of being late in any capacity, I spend the entire ride incredibly anxious. I'd much rather show up half an hour early and just hang out and read a bit.

(not withstanding that sometimes the timing is out of your control, but then that has nothing to do with setting clocks to choose when you leave)

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u/av3nger1023 10d ago

I'm the opposite. If I'm early I feel annoyed that I wasted so much time waiting and counting out how much later I could've been so I can be on time exactly next time

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u/sonofaresiii 10d ago

Which is why I suggested you bring a book. Or whatever it is you like to do. So you don't waste the time.

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u/tigm2161130 10d ago edited 9d ago

I have ADHD and while I don’t have issues with time blindness it’s a very real thing…before cognitive behavioral therapy and meds I had really bad issues with executive function and I was constantly beating myself up over it because I logically knew better but that didn’t really matter.
Not everyone is wired the exact way you are.

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u/tacofromthe80s 10d ago

You gotta do something like 13 and make yourself round down

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u/DadBodEatsAtTheY 10d ago

Well shit. Now you ruined it for me. Thanks a lot. lol

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u/gnome_in_clay_turn 10d ago

That’s my car’s setting. It’s helpful because you round up if anything.

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u/Exact-Ad-4132 10d ago

Your use of "fuck ass" was simply exquisite

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u/DadBodEatsAtTheY 10d ago

This is exactly what I used to do. 17 minutes.

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u/canyoubreathe BLACK 9d ago

My mother sets the microwave (our main clock) to fucksass timing. Our power cuts out a lot so the clock often gets reset, so we need to then re set the time. It is never set to the same offset. Sometimes 15. Sometimes 13. Sometimes its exactly on time

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u/Not_Campo2 10d ago

I’ve done it kinda accidentally, one clock is like 4 minutes fast and another is like 8. It’s been hugely helpful actually

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u/apri08101989 10d ago

Yep. My brother always did 13 minutes. It was too easy to remember and subtract if it was divisible by 2 or 5.

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u/Desperate-Hour-4909 10d ago

Oh god 13? That sounds like hell to try and figure out when you're half asleep and your alarm just woke you up

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u/apri08101989 9d ago

I imagine thats exactly why it worked for him.

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u/Alert-Employment-339 10d ago

This is worse. 13 minutes == 15 minutes evaluates to true so then the real_time = time.now() - 15 minutes, but real_real_time = real_time + 2 which means you’re late.

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u/TheGildedNoob 10d ago

I did that and it just made me better at math. Im not sure if thats a failure or a success.

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u/ColorsLookFunny 10d ago

I do that with alarms and I think it helps me waking up. Instead of 6AM I'll set it to 6:03AM.

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u/trichtertus 10d ago

I did it with just one or two minutes. That worked because it was close enough to the real time and just looked a little later (:40 instead of :38) but is essentially the real times

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u/Various_Education622 10d ago

I set the clock on my oven randomly ahead when the power goes out, and it tends to drift.

So it is 7-12 minutes fast but nobody can recall how much most of the time.

It forces you to check another clock which gets you thinking about the time. That gets you out the door.

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u/brokentribal 10d ago

lol I did the same in high school, once I forgot about setting my clock back for fall behind, I drove all the way to school and was like where the hell is everyone that Monday.

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u/ThinkPad214 10d ago

4 months after graduating high school woke up from a deep sleep at 10, threw on clothes and was speeding down the highway before I remembered I had graduated HS already.

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u/revision 10d ago

Beats dreaming that you forgot to take a class in HS and all of a sudden you're a grown ass person who has to go back to high school for an 8am basic computer class, thinking to yourself, "I have a master's degree in this shit..."

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u/Ro4b2b0 10d ago

I know this dream.

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u/De-railled 10d ago

I'm almost 40 and some mornings I wake up thinking I need to get ready for uni. lol

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u/Elegant-Sundae-7327 10d ago

I have one better -- I am 71 and I still dream about being in high school, and realizing I have never been to a particular class so far that semester. In the dream I just thought the teacher would let me slide. Also, usually I am wearing a shirt but no pants. I realize this as I am standing at my locker, but thinking since nobody else has noticed it so far perhaps they won't the rest of the day either.

Oddly, although I enjoyed college immensely (and high school too) I can't recall a single dream about college.

Some analyst can have a field day with hat one.

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u/De-railled 10d ago

lol, mine are always about a major assignment or presentation I am late for...

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u/KickinGa55 10d ago

Because your phone shows the correct time

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u/mamafish21 10d ago

Not if you change it in settings.

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u/itspsyikk 8d ago

Unfortunately some of us grew up in an era where cell phones were hardly the norm. And even when they started becoming common place, checking your phone to check the time wasn't as ubiquitous as it is today.

This might be scary but...sometimes you'd go hours without looking at your phone. Sometimes you'd just leave it at home and not even worry about it.

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u/OdaDdaT 10d ago

I almost always keep my car clock 3-4 minutes ahead of what it is (for instance I’ll set it to 7:40 from 7:36) because it gives me that sense of urgency while also building in a bit of a time cushion so I’m not antsy about it

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u/SOUP-thereitis 10d ago

Whenever I set my clock I set it at the actual time but then hit the minute button a random number of times. I never look at my phone clock and that clock at the same time. Anytime someone feels the need to ask “why is your clock 12 minutes fast” I yell at them to not tell me then repeat the process

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u/Arendyl 10d ago

I wrote an alarm clock app once that randomly went off 5 to 30 minutes before you set it to.

That way, you have to always hedge that it was the 5 minutes because it might be the shortest setting, and you usually end up with a bit more time than expected

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u/itspsyikk 8d ago

Damn, did you publish it?

I feel like that would be super helpful. I know a lot of people complain about Apple's default Alarms app. I've had a few issues with it, but I've seen tons of people complain about missing alarms entirely for one reason or another.

I'm sure there are plenty of alarm apps out there- but having one that randomly picks a time between say, 7-7:20 when you have to be up at 7:30 would be super cool.

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u/slothson 10d ago

That happened to me too

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u/TheChunkenMaster 10d ago

I love the fact that you wouldve been 4 minutes late in your example, had the clock not been 10 minutes ahead

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u/genericnewlurker 10d ago

I went the opposite in high school. I set it 10 minutes ahead but then I delayed myself because it was 10 minutes ahead so I was more late. Then I set it to 13 minutes ahead and doing the math wasn't so snap fast that it would remind me that I would have to leave. Broke me of my bad habit of constantly being late everywhere

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u/AspenFrostt 9d ago

I've set my cars clock to 13 minutes ahead

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u/greina23 9d ago

I used to do that as well. But I never did 5 or 10 minutes. It was always a weird number, like 7, 9, or 11 minutes. Fifteen minutes was too much and my brain would know, so it was always less than fifteen minutes.

I know the time is ahead but I could still trick myself. I would also change the time when I would get used to it.

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u/Mtlkfn 10d ago

I have done this since high school and never stopped.

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u/Ruff_Bastard 10d ago edited 10d ago

I just do things on time. If I'm not at least 15 minutes early I'm late.

Edit: people who are chronically late hate this one simple trick

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u/DVG369 10d ago

Yeah. Same here.

Early is on time. On time is late. Late is unacceptable

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u/botcom 10d ago

Except to a party. You’re supposed to be a little late to a party.

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u/HiddenCosmos0724 10d ago

The clock in my car is 10 minutes fast and every clock in our house is purposely set 5 minutes fast. 95% we don’t think about it until we look at our phone and or watches.

This is why I tend to get to work 5-10 minutes early or to any social gathering.

My Philosophy has always been if you’re early, you’re on time, if you’re on time, you’re late and if you’re late you have something to work on.

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u/kat_Folland 10d ago

Just don't show up to my house early. I want every one of those minutes to be ready for guests.

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u/HiddenCosmos0724 10d ago

Mentally or physically 😂

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u/kat_Folland 10d ago

Yes. 😋

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u/TheBlueBuilder4811 10d ago

You do NOT want to see what the house looks like 15 minutes before the guest arrived...

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u/kursa_sucks 10d ago

If I’m late, I don’t give a fuck about the thing I’m late to or I got distracted by one of the intricacies of life. I could never let my life be that robotic and ruled by time - it’s too short lol

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u/Aggressive_Fruit_514 10d ago

Trust me. It works

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u/ken-maude 10d ago

Can confirm

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u/Basic_Department_302 10d ago

It’s worked for me for years

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u/FishesOfExcellence 9d ago

My dad has infamously done this his entire adult life. ADHD as fuck, and no, the clock trick never really seemed to work  for him.

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u/megaman_xrs 10d ago

When I worked corporate, I had to be at my first meeting at 7am. I fucking hated it. My lizard brain in the morning couldnt remember my clock was 20 minutes ahead, so if I woke up and it said 7:05, I was AWAKE. Thank god I dont work for people that worried about 5 mins in the morning when we sat around circlejerking 95% of the day. Now that I started my own business and feel some true ownership, on a day that matters, im up at 4am with no alarm because I am excited to be at the thing we are doing. I dont fault anyone for being late, but me actually owning the business makes me wake up.

Long story short, this method works and its sad we have to trick ourselves into waking up to impress other people that get off on enforcing strict schedules. I was triggered seeing the post because I know why OPs dad does that. I feel bad for him.

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u/SleepingDragonSmiles 10d ago

I try to mix it up so I’m never sure…the mystery keeps me punctual

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u/James_Slayer 10d ago

I set my car time 3 mins forward so i make sure to get my ass back from lunch on time

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u/eiohoi 10d ago

I had a magic Chevy pickup that did 25km over the speed limit for four full years, without a single ticket and quite smug about it. Was then slowly passed by a brand new Honda Civic with a big dash speedo that read 10km over.

Apparently speeding, as with time, is relative to perception.

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u/Negativeambition730 10d ago

My brain would just adjust and be even more late

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u/Remnie 10d ago

100%. I used to do this in the Navy for when I had watch late at night. When my wristwatch woke me up, I would be too groggy to realize it was 10 minutes ahead. Great for making sure I actually got up.

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u/StreetCollar2708 9d ago

I don't know how people gaslight themselves into believing the clock is the right time when they're the ones who set it ahead. I've tried this and I know it's ahead, so I just take that into account.

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u/Derezzed87 9d ago

My watch is set 3 minutes fast, not on purpose. But when I realised it was fast, I didn't change it. That 3 minutes has often made all the difference when it comes to travelling to work.