This last weekend, we observed the “spring forward” part of Daylight Saving Time. And it occurred to me that this is a waste of time, and causes more trouble than it’s worth. Now, I’m all for making better use of daylight. But consider the following:

• Daylight Saving Time this year runs from March 13 to November 6. That’s almost 8 months. We spend nearly twice as much time under DST as we do under “standard” time. There’s something intrinsically wrong with this.
• Twice a year, everyone has to go through all the clocks in their house and reset them. They have to adjust their internal body clocks.
• Systems all over the world must keep up to date with the rules, when they take effect, and if they change. Not following the rules precisely can have dire consequences.

For an example of the last point, today I was awakened an hour early because my iPhone’s alarm clock app didn’t adjust properly. And I wasn’t the only one who had a problem with the app, which also caused trouble back in November at the “fall back” point, and again in January (okay, this one may not have been related to DST, but still…the app has problems). If it weren’t for DST, a lot of this crap could have been avoided.

Daylight Saving Time is a nuisance. I think we should abolish it. But I’m not against taking advantage of the daylight. I suggest we just don’t come off of DST in November. Stay in the paradigm that results in more sunlight during normal waking hours most of the year. At least then it wouldn’t matter if the alarm clock app doesn’t adjust itself.

By the way, if you refer to it as “daylight savings time”, you’re doing it wrong.