Is anyone else getting tired of reading articles and blog posts about our distractibility and lack of productivity? How about our technology-induced ADD and our lack of self-discipline that, if corrected, would result in a 4-hour work week?

Okay, I admit I have written a blog post or two on the subject. And I sheepishly acknowledge this is another. Sort of.

Like so many, I stopped wearing a watch years ago when my smartphone took over as my chronometer.  I thought it was so clever to give up the watch. Simplicity: one less possession to keep track of.  Time saved: no watch on/watch off at the airport. A boon for the environment: no more watch batteries.

Then I went on a mini-vacation with my daughters last week and I discovered something interesting. My daughter Heather wears a watch. (No, this is not the interesting discovery.) Fearing I would drop my new cell phone (that does not yet have a case) as we played on the rocky shore of Lake Superior, I asked Heather for the time throughout the day instead of looking at my phone.

And what did I discover? When you don’t look at your phone to see what time it is, you don’t get distracted by the text messages and emails and calls that have come in.  You stay present to the moment and the task at hand.

I experimented the day after vacation, and sure enough, not looking at the phone to check the time, saved me time.

Time is our most valuable commodity. It’s about time I go buy a new watch.