The tyranny of time management: a historical critique
The essay argues that the modern obsession with productivity and time management is a centuries-old cultural construct, not an inevitable condition. It traces the history of timekeeping from Rome's first public sundial in 263 BC, which playwright Plautus cursed for hacking days into pieces, to the Ostrogoth king Theodoric's acoustic water clock in 507 AD Verona, designed to help citizens occupy every moment. The Puritan ethic intensified this, with preacher Richard Baxter in the 17th century calling idleness a sin against God, and the Puritan watch—an undecorated pocket watch—serving as a constant reminder. Benjamin Franklin's 1748 treatise 'Advice to a Young Tradesman' coined 'time is money,' embedding productivity into capitalism. Today, atomic clocks measure time in femtoseconds, yet the pressure to optimize every second persists through smartphone calendars and apps. The author, Rooney, suggests we can choose to sit still and think, reclaiming time from the drumbeat of efficiency.
Key facts
- Rome's first public sundial was installed in 263 BC.
- Playwright Plautus condemned the sundial for hacking his days into pieces.
- In 507 AD, Ostrogoth king Theodoric built an acoustic water clock in Verona that shouted the time.
- Theodoric said the clock helped citizens distinguish hours to occupy every moment.
- 17th-century Puritan preacher Richard Baxter called idleness a sin that robs God.
- The Puritan watch, an undecorated pocket watch, emerged around 1635.
- Oliver Cromwell allegedly owned a Puritan watch, now in the British Museum.
- Benjamin Franklin wrote 'time is money' in a 1748 treatise.
- Atomic clocks, using atomic properties, have existed since the 1950s.
- Modern atomic clocks measure time in femtoseconds (quadrillionths of a second).
Entities
Artists
- Plautus
- Richard Baxter
- Oliver Cromwell
- Benjamin Franklin
- Rooney
Institutions
- British Museum
- Monocle
Locations
- Rome
- Verona
- Italy
Sources
- Monocle —