You may be waking up thinking, how is it November already? Soon enough, the holiday season will be upon us and we will kiss 2015 goodbye. It is hard to believe that we are in the final two months of the year. Temperatures will be dropping, turkeys will be cooked, and snow will be falling sooner than we think.

November is so quintessential autumn. It takes us from the brilliant foliage of the changing season, to the magical time of year when winter is still new and beautiful. This seasonal change may be felt in the air, but also in the time. On Saturday night, as many partied the night away, time was altered. We were gifted an extra hour of sleep, or play for some. With this shift, the sun will set earlier, darkness and night will seemingly last longer. This is a cozy time of year, sweaters are adorned and heavy blankets are taken out of their summer hibernation. So snuggle up, the season is just starting.

You were undoubtedly reminded of the impending approach of Daylight Savings Time several times, and your clock was most likely set back an hour automatically. Thanks technology. We remain in this Standard Time for a mere four months. How interesting it is that humans, and governments, can manipulate time so easily. Though, being a man-made construct to begin with, we do have the power to alter it however we wish, even if it is now done more out of tradition than need.

That is exactly what Standard and Daylight Savings Time is, tradition. What are we really saving though? Maybe daylight does not need saving? Maybe daylight just wants to take care of itself? Yet, with Standard Time taking up only about 18 weeks out of the year, why does it need to happen at all? It would appear that Daylight Savings Time has become the standard.

We are no longer an agrarian culture. Plenty of countries and individual states (looking at you Arizona) do not adhere to this antiquated time shift. Is there really a need for a clock reset in this increasingly service-based, technological age?

Of course there is still a great deal of agriculture throughout the United States, a fact easily forgotten in the hustle of daily urban living. I certainly do not claim to be a farmer, nor possess a great deal of agricultural knowledge. But one can see that even farming has felt the influence of technology. There are always new studies, computer programs, and innovations that aid in the agricultural industry. Sunlight can even be simulated now if necessary. The farmer’s almanac is no longer the lead source of knowledge for the American farmer. The shifting of time for their benefit seems useless and inconsequential.

Daylight Savings Time’s greatest consequence seems to be making people either an hour late or early. This is, however, an affliction rapidly disappearing due to our smartphone dependence. Our smartphones would never dream of forgetting the time change. Most clocks are equipped to make the change on their own. With all that said, if your body has not yet adjusted and you find yourself on the incorrect hour, running late to that important meeting, we’ll be happy to pick you up and get you where you need to be… Even if you discover that instead of being late, you’re an hour early. It is all thanks to that sweet, outmoded, unnecessary shift in time.