CONTENTS UNDER PRESSURE: IT'S TIME TO BREATHE DEEP AND LOSE THE WATCH

I got to the office the other day and as I settled into my cubicle, I realized I wasn't wearing a watch.

I think they heard my gasp of horror in the far corners of the building.

I live by deadlines; going without a watch is a sure way to induce panic.

Never mind the fact that there are clocks in the newsroom and in my car, and at home there are the real clocks, plus the microwave and the VCR; without something on my wrist telling me what time it is (and which way left is), temporal disaster will strike and I won't be where I need to be when I need to be there.

We live by clocks and calendars. When we start measuring events in nanoseconds, you know that time is crucial.

And disaster will apparently strike when 2000 rolls around and the computers on which we all depend crash and burn because they haven't been programmed to recognize any year that doesn't start with "19."

So much for the "end time."

The fact that I am congenitally early -- at least five minutes, unless I'm going to a movie, in which case I'm there 10 minutes before the previews start -- doesn't figure into my equation.

I spent the day in a state of anxiety -- I only had one appointment -- and when I got home, I sat down and pondered my panic.

After I put my watch on. It's hard to ponder without the reassuring sweep of the second hand.

I came, eventually, to a conclusion: I gotta lighten up.

It's not an earth-shattering conclusion. Anyone who knows me well realizes I'm entirely too intense for anybody's good.

Going into a semi-catatonic state when I forget my watch is not healthy behavior.

So that's my New Year's resolution: Breathe more deeply, stop and smell the roses, have some fun, yada, yada, yada.

I can waste time with the best of them, but I don't think I'm alone in mentally ticking off the hours I'm frittering away. If you're going to fritter, you should enjoy it.

There are a number of other things that I should be working on, like cutting down on salt, fat, sugar and caffeine, but this seems like a good place to start.

I'm a busy woman. We're all busy, balancing jobs and family and relationships. No matter how many watches we own or how often we wear them, there's never going to be enough time to get everything done.

My first step is to stop wearing a watch on Sundays, which are fairly quiet for me. I go grocery shopping, occasionally take myself out to lunch and meet friends for coffee. Barring lunch or coffee, I go shopping or read or watch a movie.

I don't need a watch for that. My favorite source of caffeine is a five-minute drive from home (I've clocked it), and I always leave at least 15 minutes before I need to be there.

And there's a clock in the coffee shop.

I know; I checked, and actually, it's a few minutes slow.

One watch-free day a week should do it, I think, unless I can find a career in which time is not a factor.

Now if I could just do something about the salt, fat, sugar and caffeine. ...

Peggy O'Farrell is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.