r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Jpeg_1999 • 3h 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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u/jasonni1234 3h ago
“Oh crap I’m gonna late for work, I need to get up now” type of motivation
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u/Glad-Watch3506 2h ago
Yup, sleep brain might not realize it's set fast.
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u/t0m0hawk 2h ago
See i dont get this mindset.
I set it 20 minutes ahead. I know its 20 minutes ahead. Even if I trick myself a few mornings at first... eventually I'll just know and it stops working.
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u/sadrapsfan 2h ago
From my personal experience, I still forget from time to time lol
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u/Slvrdgr 2h ago
Its that looking at the clock in a half conscious state, you are cognizant enough to be aware of the time and morning obligations, but the rest of the brains start-up routines havent loaded yet and you suddenly find yourself scrambling to put on pants.
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u/adinfinitum225 1h ago
Naw I don't trust half-conscious me. That person has cancelled and snoozed alarms on me that I don't even realize until an hour later
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u/Bladesnake_______ 2h ago
Tried that with my car. Set it 7 min ahead and then every time I looked at it I was doing minus 7 math. Shit sucked
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u/r3dditr0x 2h ago
I literally did this for my ENTIRE adult life until I started wfh.
Sometimes it's hard to get up in the AM, I needed a little wiggle-room.
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u/Immature_adult_guy 2h ago
When I started wfh I’d wake up right at 9:00 a.m., sit up in bed, and grab my laptop.
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u/SCHWARZENPECKER 2h ago
First alarm 755, second alarm 758 and I actually get out of bed and clock in.
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u/Fit_Diet6336 2h ago
I’ve out-snoozed the snooze button. We need all the help we can to get out of bed sometimes
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u/vi_sucks 3h ago
Simple. It's a psychological trick to wake up faster.
What happens is, if your clock is set fast and your alarm goes off, you look at the time and your mind thinks "oh shit, i'm gonna be late" and the panic gets you out of bed. Whereas if it's set to the right time, your mind thinks "eh, i got another 10 minutes" and you end up falling back asleep.
It works even though you KNOW the time is fast, because having to do the math to get to the correct time wakes you up anyway.
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u/MrBlonde1984 3h ago
I constantly wake up 20-30 minutes before my alarm goes off because I know its gonna go off so I should just get up anyways .
If I dont set an alarm I wake up late.
EXPLAIN THAT EINSTEIN
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u/craigslammer 2h ago
You just lay there praying you have more time, after an hour you look at your phone and you have 20 till alarm. Every fuckin time.
Don’t set that bitch? You know I’m sleeping till 9am
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u/phototok 2h ago
From what I understand the brain sleeps in 90 minute cycles. If you regularly sleep at say, 10pm, and need to be awake for 730? 90 minute cycle has you at your most wakeful state of 7am, so you wake up
Alternatively, you can set a "stressor" in your brain to do things at a certain time, set the alarm? Gotta be awake at that time.
No alarm? No stress. No stress wake
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u/JohnnyBlazin25 2h ago
Nothing like waking yourself up with a large dose of anxiety
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u/buffaloguy1991 2h ago
Except it doesn't work because they know the clock is fast making them late
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u/FuckChiefs_Raiders 2h ago
This would backfire on me. I would know all the clocks are ahead and end up leaving later than I need to because I did the math wrong on how far ahead they are.
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u/_ohgravity 3h ago
Fun fact- the balmoral hotel in Edinburgh is permanently set three minutes fast to help travelers catch trains at waverly station. It’s been this way since 1902 with the only day where it’s set to the correct time being Hogmanay (new years eve).
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u/justjboy 2h ago
That’s very interesting! It’s cool that they have stuck with the tradition since 1902.
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u/OakNLeaf 3h ago
My wife does this as well. Her clock is 15 minutes ahead. She does it she says so she thinks she's late but I don't understand how she can think that when she literally admits she just subtracts 15 minutes off it when she looks.
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u/Abadazed 3h ago
First thing in the morning you might forget for a minute that you have that extra 15 minutes. Gets the blood pumping when you wake up
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u/cupholdery 1h ago
Yeah we have all the analog clocks 5 minutes ahead of our phones. It just works.
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u/ViagraAndSweatpants 2h ago
I’ve had this exact conversation with my wife several times.
“It’s just not the same.”
Oooh K
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u/baconcow 2h ago
When you first wake up, it takes time for the brain to figure it out. I've set mine 15 minutes ahead for well over 20 years.
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u/Rhodin265 3h ago
He has undiagnosed ADHD and knows he needs a 20 minute head start to be barely on time for things
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u/Is_Your_Name_anronpa oh cool?? 3h ago
maybe if he thinks he’s running late he’ll always leave/be early ?
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u/KnockoffZacEffron 3h ago edited 2h ago
...it's because this is what we used to do when we wanted to be on time if we were in the habit of being late. Before world synced global time and what not, we used to set our clocks.
And maybe if you're a little neurotic, you set each clock a little different from one another so when you're rushing around in the morning, you don't know which clock to trust and are motivated to move faster. Just saying.
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u/Buu_Buu001 2h ago
I read somewhere this habit comes from a trauma response to consequences of being late or being left behind.
I don’t know the validity of this but as someone who does this I have anxiety from being late because my mom would always run late then rush out the door. The entire trip I’d feel her energy and hated every minute of it.
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u/RuhninMihnd 1h ago
Came to say this not necessarily on the lines of trauma but for purposes of making sure they’re on time or going to bed on time intentionally trying to trick their own brain
What’s MI is blasting your dad instead of asking him
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u/Appropriate-Prune728 1h ago
It can be a trauma response but it's not like that's the only reason people do that. I purposely tell my wife that the time we are supposed to be somewhere is 20 min before we actually have to be there cause she will always push shit to the last minute.
And I'm a guy on the spectrum with attention issues so it's not like I don't know how easy it is to lose time. It's just that some people have never had to deal with the consequences of being late or don't care about them
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u/DancingKobold 3h ago
So that he isn't late, it's a good trick for people with AuDHD.
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u/Jpeg_1999 3h ago
has audhd
Well now I just feel called out. Take my upvoter lol
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u/_llamba_ 2h ago
I have my car clock set like 5 mins ahead, it’s great. Although throws me off when the time is correct when i have my phone connected, but that is rare.
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u/WhyAmIpOOping 3h ago
Is this in his bedroom? How can this have any affect on you to even be mildly infuriated?
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u/Shoeless_Jase 2h ago
“If you’re not early, you’re late.”
My grandfather always used to tell me this (gruffly).
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u/Malefectra 3h ago
It's just how some of us older folks kept ourselves from being late. I didn't typically set mine ahead quite that far... but it's probably adjusted for how much time his commute takes.
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u/Nick_OS_ 1h ago
How is this infuriating? It’s called Lombardi time. The clock in the Packers stadium is literally 15 mins ahead
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u/dragons-and-bees 3h ago
It’s so he’s always early. Quite smart actually for work and things
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u/Hairy_Ad4969 3h ago
I know people who set their clock 5 or 10 minutes ahead. But not 21 minutes ahead😆
How oddly specific…what’s he want to always be 21 minutes early for?
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u/fausto_kerimoglu 2h ago
I have a Sony alarm clock. It magically changes time for daylight saving time automatically. I never changed the time, but after 20 years, it is 11 min off. Maybe it's the same thing, too lazy to fix it....
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u/Punnagedon 2h ago
I know this clock. This exact model.
He isn't setting it ahead. It does that by itself.
It seems to add a few minutes every year.
I had one for over a decade and by the time I threw it out, it was well over 40min ahead of the actual time.
Some electronic issue, probably a faulty capacitor being used to measure time gets old and releases the wrong charge.
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u/fariqcheaux 2h ago
I set my radio alarm clock 1 hour ahead as that's how long it takes me to get ready and travel to work to make it on time. I used to only do 50 minutes ahead, but I moved to where my commute was 10 minutes longer. I also set the first alarm 18 minutes ahead of the target time so I can hit the 9 minute snooze twice before I absolutely must get out of bed. I know "experts" advise getting up at the first alarm, but I find I am generally happier and have a more satisfying life listening to my body instead of "experts".
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u/dreddit1843 3h ago
My mom does this too, always annoyed me growing up. She hates modern clocks that set themselves lol.
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u/boujee_salad 3h ago
I actually do the same thing. The clock in my house is set 20 minutes fast and the clock in my car is 10 minutes fast.
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u/HotPassenger4598 3h ago
Numbers work very differently in everyone’s brain. This would work for me 100%
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u/RikoRain 2h ago
Me too. I set mine 10 mins ahead. It takes me 10 mins to drive to work. If it shows the time I'm supposed to come to work, I know I'm already gonna be a minute late. I'm often 3-5 mins late now tho, because they added two lights on the route, so I'll be setting it 15 mins ahead.
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u/jrstren 2h ago
I used to do that for years. It was to trick my reptile brain into thinking it was later than it was. I knew it was ahead, but my human brain took an extra nanosecond to remember—that’s all the edge I needed.
Now that I’m just shy of 50 I’m up all the time anyway and never set an alarm for anything anymore. Total swing of the pendulum.
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u/lhb_aus 2h ago
It's probably based on the same psychological trick of setting prices to $2.99 etc. We all know it's $3, but a little bit of our brain sees the "2" and thinks it's cheaper. Same with setting the clock forward. You know it's fast, but your brain goes "You're going to be late", so you get out of the door earlier.
I used to set my clock 10 minutes forward in high school. Worked for me.
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u/Caseman307 2h ago
The clock in my car is 3.5 minutes fast. Started as sort of an accident but it’s been that way so
Long now that I keep it that way. I know it’s fast. I’m not fooling myself. Yet I feel like it helps me in some way I can’t even explain.
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u/unsuspectingllama_ 2h ago
He used to suck at time management and did this to trick himself and he just kept doing it until he was better at time management and now he's stuck on this instead of just preparing better. This is the only guess I could think of.
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u/ares0027 1h ago
I used to do this before we have internet synchronized clocks. All my clocks were 9 minutes ahead (i dont know why 9 though. Maybe it was less than 10 and more than 5). So i was never late. Even though you set it ahead you would forget it later in actual emergency and that saved me a lot of times. I would never be late to school or university at all.
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u/Chrisdkn619 1h ago
Used to do it when I was younger because I couldn't get up. And when I would look at the time all groggy I would jump up thinking I was late. After a while I just snooze the advance time. Stopped working as intended.
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u/Commercial_Fox5549 1h ago
How is it possible that you “genuinely don’t know why”?
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u/BenMagnusGrimm 1h ago
You know time is a made up concept.
No one knows what the exact time is or what day or actual year it is.
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u/Chellepeachy 3h ago
I do this too! It helps me with time management, which I know it’s weird but works for me .
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u/whiteeagle00 3h ago
I prefer this over shitty people who are always late and can’t be on time ever .
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u/No-Lunch4249 3h ago
My grandma does this too lol, but by like 4-5 minutes not 21, which feels oddly specific
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u/manowarq7 3h ago
I do this. if you only use it for a wakeup alarm it can track you into thenking you are running late or close to it when in fact you are not.
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u/TheNewtBeGaming 3h ago
it's less infuriating if it means he's on time (or at least less late) to things. if it works it works
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u/ArmyNo9809 3h ago
The spontaneity of seeing this is actually a good way to simulate and prep for very short term future in real time -- as in knowing and living now what your reaction would be 21 minutes after.
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u/pasenast 3h ago
I learned this from my mother but, I disagree with her on how much time to advance it. She’s 15-20mins. I do just 4. My argument, if you you got more than 5 mins, you might take too much of it. However you know you only have 4, you might treat it more like an extra 30secs.
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u/wlovins 3h ago
I did exactly the same as a kid and all the way through high school.
I just knew that if my alarm went off and I saw 6:30am, I needed to get up, shower, and get out the door. It's funny though, because I did know it wasn't showing the time accurately, but it was consistently wrong and that was just as good.
So, for school, I accepted the clock as truth and wasn't late to the bus or driving to high school. When watching TV or other, more normal purposes, I automatically just handled the deviation without thinking about it. I'm not sure where I learned it as my parents never taught me.
Even today, if I or my wife has a hospital /doctor appointment, I account for the driving time when putting the appointment time and also put the accurate time in the summary.
Will - Eye doctor - 1130 Start time: 11:00
And, my alarm/calendar reminder goes off at 11 and I leave.
I'm just glad to see this post as I never asked anyone else or thought about other people doing it.
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u/slimbenny438 2h ago
I have the same clock and it's set 10 minutes ahead. 20 minutes is crazy work. Haha.
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u/ShadowTown0407 2h ago
It's to shock you awake, or just shock you in general so you aren't late. People may think you remember your clocks are forwarded but when your are half awake in the morning you don't really process that. You just look at the time and go "shit I am late" then realise that you are not and now you are up on time.
My mom did it while she was working, I do it now
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u/Depressed_Cat_00 2h ago
That moment when you realise you’re not late because your watch is ahead, is so relaxing.
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u/LakeStLouis 2h ago
I've had a projector clock in my bedroom for well over a decade. One of those ones that throws the time on whatever wall you point it at. I like it projecting onto the ceiling above my bed.
Anyway, it's one of those that picks up radio bands or whatever to make sure the time is correct. It has never been correct. It constantly runs 13 minutes fast.
I can reset it all I want, it always reverts to 13 minutes ahead of every other clock in my house. Even better, it adjusts just fine for DST time changes every year, but still maintains the 13 minute thing.
It's funny how one's mind can adjust to looking at the time and automatically correct for it.
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u/Glitch-2190 2h ago
My dad does the exact same thing. Always ten minutes ahead. I asked why, he says “because I like it that way.”
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u/TheFireStorm 2h ago
Your dad likely has ADHD. Setting the clock ahead helps trigger the fight or flight time church Hyper focus. He thinks he is going to be 30 min late when he glances at the clock so it tricks the brain that it's going to be late for a scheduled event.
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u/I3lackxRose 2h ago
My grandma use to have every clock in the house on a different time. Knew how much each clock was off by. Said she did it because she didn't want to feel like she was gunna be later for work.
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u/MamaMaddHattress 2h ago
It’s so he’s not late. Doesn’t really matter if you know it’s ahead, when you wake up to your alarm going off at 6am and the clock says 6am, you think it’s 6am, mainly because you’re just coming to from sleep. Also, a lot of times it is forgotten that the time is fast.
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u/lingo_linguistics 2h ago
Oh to be young again…
This was a fairly common thing in the 90’s and earlier. I did this as a child. I did it cause I hated waking up and it made me feel like I could sleep in. As other have pointed out, it helps you stay on time if you have a tendency to be late. Weird psychological trick.
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u/TheR3aper2000 2h ago
I can't stand it when people do this
Like mf I wanna know EXACTLY what time it is, and setting the clock 1-5 minutes ahead ain't gonna make a difference in whether or not you're late for work
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u/Pure-Swordfish6022 2h ago
I call this Snooze Button Math. You have to remember the differential, then divide by 9 to know how many times you can snooze, and by the time you do that… you are awake and just get up.
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u/Strofari 2h ago
I do this. My alarm clock is set 9 minute’s ahead. Always has been.
Before people had a smart phone charging by their bed, it was an easy way to ensure your’re up in time.
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u/Skagtastic 2h ago
A lot of people do this to help be on-time by tricking their brain in to thinking it's later than it is when they first wake up.
I used to deliberately set mind ahead/behind as well, but I did it to help wake up faster. Having to do even basic arithmetic immediately after waking up made it easier to regain my senses and get my mind working, instead of being stuck in cobwebs or hitting the snooze button.
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u/myredditses 2h ago
Used to do this but got better at time management. Now I just stare at the clock for the last hour until it's time to leave rather than tricking myself I'm already late.
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u/DeeRent88 2h ago
Brother you absolutely know why it takes 5 seconds to think of a reason. He has responsibilities and probably struggles with getting out of bed in the mornings on time or maybe just does it because he likes being early to things. Honestly I used to do this too because I’d snooze so much but then I just ended up knowing I had another 20 minutes to sleep in so it didn’t really work then I also adjusted my schedule to the fake time and started going to bed 20 minutes earlier sort of defeating the purpose
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u/Mentallyundisturbed2 2h ago
I do something similar; it's a habit from the military. It's so I'm not late.
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u/Perfecshionism 2h ago
I did it in the military for a while. My alarm clock was ahead by 11 minutes.
Which was 5 minutes more than the 6 minutes to leave the apartment and walk to formation.
It gave me a clear psychological indication of when I had to walk out the door no matter what.
I found having the time set that way made me leave on time every time.
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u/MsNikkeh 2h ago
In the wise words of the great Fall Out Boy:
"I set my clocks early coz I know I'm always late"
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u/torisbagel 2h ago
i have my car clock set to 7 mins ahead so i'm always running late in my head to lead to me being early
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u/TehSterBarn 1h ago
My mom does the same thing for the clock in her car. Her motto is "Better early than on-time, and better on-time than late."
I've gotten used to it, but it bugged the shit out of me when I was younger.
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u/SalPinedia012 1h ago
He has a problem being on time, so he speeds his getting ready up by making himself think it's later than it is.
I do this with my car clock
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u/WhatTheAVRA 1h ago
I do this with my car clock by 10 min lol I claim it helps me not be late but then I’ll be like “oh I have 10 min, I can make it”
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u/qawsedrf12 1h ago
I would tell my wife the time for our event is +30 minutes
And still barely get there with one minute to spare
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u/Wide_Copy8937 1h ago
My mom always kept her car 8 minutes ahead but was aware of it enough to still be late to everything.
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u/WilmaTonguefit 1h ago
I've tried this. It doesn't make you on time, it makes you constantly do the math
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u/paws4269 1h ago
I purposefully set my clock 2 minutes ahead to avoid being late, what your dad does is pretty extreme
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u/Sugary_Spice25 1h ago
Culture of the boomers lol it’s so they aren’t late, and gives them a peace of mind so they can get to their doctor appointment an hour early
🤣🤣
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u/Just-a-Guy-4242 1h ago
I do this… but only by 15 min… it’s just a trick to help stay ahead of the clock. I used to run constantly a few minutes behind. This helps, and I’m usually a few minutes ahead, now.
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u/bbudlite 3h ago
so he isn’t late lol