Don’t forget

Many common clocks today should pick up Daylight Saving Time automatically: your computer, your cell phone, and your TiVo. But when you reach the edge of what sophisticated technology can offer, we hope you find this simple solution useful.

Step One

Write yourself a reminder on a Macktez post-it; for example:

Energy-saving time-shift begins on Sunday, April 3

or

Legislated relic of industrial age rears head at 2:00am

Step Two

Attach a post-it to each of the clocks that might need your personal attention.

[ ] microwave clock (affix to door)
[ ] alarm clock (affix to bed pillow)
[ ] VCR clock (affix to TV)
[ ] internal clock (affix to forehead)

Step Three

Remove the post-its and forget about the whole mess until October.

Daylight Saving Time

Time zones were developed for railroads, standardizing timetables across a vast continent. Then daylight saving was adopted for World War I energy conservation — though the one hour change didn’t generate any more sunlight, it could save the day’s light for the hours we are most likely to be awake.

Forgetting to reset your clocks on Sunday, April 3 will, at best, make you an hour late for brunch that morning, or, at worst, make you miss the first three innings of the Yankees’ opening game that night. We think both scenarios can be easily avoided.

When your clock says 7:05 pm on Sunday night, and Randy Johnson is throwing the first pitch to Johnny Damon, you’ll know you’ve done everything right.