I started using the hourly chime on my wrist watch and found it helps ground me. The trouble is the chime can be disruptive at night, and it’s tedious to turn it on and off every day. I’m hoping to find a clock (not a wrist watch)-- of decent build quality-- with an adjustable chime (volume and active window). I don’t care if the clock mechanisms are mechanical or not, so long as the chime is pleasant.
I’m struggling to get satisfying web-search results, but I thought others with ADHD may already have a similar solution. Anyone have a clock with a chime you’d recommend?
I have an iOS app that beeps every hour, night and day, yet silent enough to not disturb my sleep).
Yet the reason , a bit off-topic though, for my reply is, that every now and then, I start to doubt my given diagnosis, believing to rather be the worlds greatest imposter ever seen!
Then something like your post happens, asking for something really not that usual (for neurotypicals), yet which has been far longer adopted by me, than my diagnosis is old.
And I start to think again, that maybe, just maybe …
So *beep* thanks for your request here. ^^
I think I can relate. I deviate from the norm in a number of ways, but everyone’s different, so I didn’t think much of it. When I was filling out the questionnaires for my ADHD testing, and saw the specificity of the questions and how relatable they were, it was a watershed moment.
I don’t doubt my diagnosis, but I do wonder how extreme my case actually is. I often forget about it until I fall behind. So often it’s some disruption in the systems I didn’t realize I depend so heavily upon.
It depends on your budget and location but Seiko makes clocks that meet your requirements:
https://www.seikoclocksusa.com/products/qxm615brh-melodies-in-motion-clock-brown.html
On the hour, the clock springs to life with motion and melody, playing one of 40 finest-quality sound melodies, each with opening and closing sequences that add theatrical flair. Complete with 22 sparkling crystals dazzle and dance as part of the clock’s magical display. Crafted with crystal glass for clarity and elegance, the Snow Castle Clock features: light sensor to automatically silence melodies and motion in the dark, demonstration button to preview the show anytime, volume control to suit your space,
Thank you for the link! I actually came across these in my research, but I was annoyed they didn’t have any sample sounds online, and then my shopping fatigue (which is easy to trigger) kicked in. I’ll have to double back once I have more energy because I think you’re right, they do seem like a good prospect.
The solution is obviously to buy 24 clocks and set each one’s alarm to a different hour
Brilliant. I’ll just turn off the alarms for 8 of them at night, but keep them around in case my schedule changes.
Don’t even need to worry about daylight savings!
You’re onto something-- I could set each clock one hour apart and set the alarms to the same hour. That way, I don’t have to change 24 clocks twice a year; I just look at one clock for daylight savings time, and then look at a different clock during standard time. Bonus: I label the other clocks with their respective time zones.
Now you’re thinking with portals
That would legit be super helpful for me. My biggest complaint about the windows clock and outlook calendar is you can only add 2 extra time zones, and I have coworkers across all US times zones, plus UTC and IST and probably more I can’t think of. Still have to convert timezones multiple times a day…
I think I have more contact with people outside of my timezone than within, so I relate. I often think I wouldn’t mind everyone switching to UTC. Even if that means I do things consistently at “odd” times, like go to bed at 10:00, wake up at 18:00 and eat dinner at 06:00.
At least we’d all be referencing the same clock. When I travel, I’d just change what time i woke up, not the clock itself, which would give a sense of changing global position. And if we still wanted DST we’d just agree to do everything an hour later and perhaps realize it’s ridiculous and stop doing that.
I got a digital desk clock that I can set any alarm for. I do an hour at a time with the timer counting down right in front of me. It helps me trick myself into being productive as well as avoiding losing track of too much time if my mind starts wandering.
I’m intrigued. What’s the brand/model?
VOCOO Digital Kitchen Timer with… https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09W2K3RR8
There’s a line of clocks where each hour is a different bird and the chime at each hour is what that bird sounds like. It has a light sensor to control its volume so at night it’s very quiet, never gonna
givewake you up. Completely analog, for better and for worse.https://www.audubon.org/marketplace/singing-bird-clock
It’s not adjustable so I’m not sure it’s a perfect fit, but it’s lovely. They’ve been around for ages, I had one since I was a kid, I’m surprised they’re still available.
Edit: it does tick like most analog clocks, which could be a deal breaker with ADHD. I know it’s sometimes a bother for me.
Whoa, this is a trip down memory lane. My grandma had this clock (and probably ADHD). idk if it’ll fit the look of our place, but I like the idea and I appreciate your recommendation.
I bet you can take the back off and put whatever you want in there for the clock face.
I don’t have an answer for you, but our grandfather clock goes off every 15 minutes, and I’ve found that really helps me keep track of the time and not accidently get sucked into any one thing for hours on end.
So, I totally get where you’re coming from.
Yeah-- it’s one of those things that was everywhere when I was younger: school, my grandparents’ home, nearby church-bells (I once had a job/shift that started when emergency sirens were being tested at 1pm every Saturday). It was background noise I took it for granted. After a number of moves and lifestyle changes I seem to have lost most audio time-cues without realizing it. And it’s been years before I realized.
You could “build your own”. Use home assistant to play music or a sound bite on smart speakers around your house. Or even just have it send you a notification. Home assistant can run on pretty much anything as well.
Good idea. I have HA running on an old laptop. If I had a smart speaker, I’d be tinkering on this now. If I can find one that meets my particularities, I might go this route. Thanks for the suggestion!
Sure thing! There’s a bunch of options there, like having it flash the lights of the room you’re in, ring your doorbell, send you a text or notification, etc.
Easy to do on your phone with an app like AMDroid that has very configurable alarms (on most android phones not sure about iPhone). Just set a good tone and set it to dismiss automatically after a second or two or turn off looping of the alarm sound.
There are standalone clocks that use Android and have a touch screen and all of that, but usually they are expensive and have low build quality for the price. I was looking around a few years ago for a bedside clock with advanced features.
I have an old android sitting around for when I require something not supported on a de-googled phone. So the app route seems like a solid option. Thanks for the recommendation
Using home assistant and a smart speaker i’ve done what you’re wanting to do. Added bonus is when going to bed I press a button to turn off most of my automations and the same button to turn them on in the morning. That way if my sleep cycle changes on the fly the chimes change with it. I’ve also got the added bonus of being able to use whatever chime or sounds i want.
But that’s probably overkill for what you want, unless you want to pick up the hobby of home automation.
Overkill is my style, and I’ve got the hobby picked up. I’ll have to look for a HA speaker that meets my criteria (private, decent quality/price/eco-mode). I like your idea for the button/switch. I’ve been manually tracking my sleep and thinking of switching to a HA button to mark sleep/wake times anyways, so this gives me another good reason to pursue it. Thanks for sharing!
Sonos speakers will miss the mark on price, they’re fairly expensive, but have a home assistant integration and can be blocked at the firewall from accessing the internet making them 100% local. I was lucky to get a couple on sale when ikea stopped carrying them and their quality can’t be beat.
I’ll be on the lookout. Thanks again for the rec!
Growing up we had a wall clock that played a different bird call for every hour. It had a light sensor so it didn’t make noise when dark. Maybe something like that could work?
Not really a clock, but this works very well for me https://f-droid.org/packages/com.kmac5dev.mindfulnotifier
Can’t hurt to try. Thanks for the rec!
What about something like https://awakeningbell.org/ (if you are at your computer all day)
I am most of the day. It might not serve all my needs, but it’s a great option. It’s going in my bookmarks and I’m trying it now. Thanks!
That site uses a few new-to-me phrases that might help you adjust your search while looking for the perfect solution.
I can’t recommend a specific clock, but I know a lot of mechanical clocks can do something like this where the chimes don’t happen overnight. It’s not a guarantee, but maybe something to look into
I have enjoyed the chime of many mechanical clocks. Finding a reasonably priced one with the features and a style I like is the challenging part. This may be the ideal solution; I just slow-burn the search and try other suggestions in the interim. Thanks!
