The Clock of Efficiency

"I used to hate doing the dishes. It was mindless, boring, just thirty minutes

of my life, every day, gone. Then I bought this clock—an old brass

chronometer. It was beautiful, but it had a faint, steady click. The first day I

brought it home, my dish time went from thirty minutes down to twenty-seven. The next day,

twenty-five. I didn't rush, I didn't change my routine. Just...

click, click, click. Last night, I looked at the

time when I finished. It took me four minutes and twelve seconds. That's impossible.

I started tracking everything. Sleep, work, conversation.