I hate Daylight Saving Time. I’m not just talking about the time changing twice a year, I’m talking specifically about the March time change. The late sunset makes the days feel interminable. The later the sun stays up, the longer I feel obliged to work outside.

It stems from this rule I imposed on myself many years ago when I thought computers were a waste of time. I forbid myself to use my computer, or any screen for that matter, while the sun was up. I still won’t watch TV when the sun is up, but my not using the computer edict hasn’t been observed since COVID.

Even still, I don’t feel like I can end my work day until dusk. That makes for some very long days during summertime. I’ve compensated for the past few summers by staying up until 3 a.m. and sleeping until noon. The trouble with that is that it’s very difficult to get off of that schedule when the days become shorter, and then I only get a few hours of daylight.

When we lived in Washington, I would wake up super late like that, but the sun would set at 4 p.m. in late Autumn, and there wasn’t much of it to begin with. I started feeling like a vampire.

I prefer the sun setting early, though. It’s manageable as long as I wake up early, and get outside to make some vitamin D at some point during the day. Between the limited daylight, and the cooler temperatures, November through March has become my favorite time of year, and that’s not something I saw coming. I used to think summertime was my favorite time of the year, but it’s always miserable. I feel better, and I’m the most productive in winter. Daylight Saving Time marks the end of productivity, and the beginning of misery. But, at least I have a few more weeks of cooler temperatures to look forward to.