It’s daylight saving time, when we tamper with our internal clocks in order to gain an extra hour of sunlight. But did you know there are multiple inner-timekeeping devices? Here’s a guide to some lesser-known tick-tockers:

CHANGE YOUR CLOCK'S CLOCK

A real clock’s clock, this useful little guy dings to remind you to reset all the timekeeping devices in your life that aren’t controlled by software. Warning: Ignoring this clock leads to scheduling mishaps for half a year, so you should probably just google how to change the time on your coffeemaker and get it over with.

FROCK CLOCK

Your internal guide to knowing the right moment to buy a new dress. Now that it’s kinda sorta spring, this clock is losing its mind over how cute you’re going to look in that new sundress. And it vehemently disagrees with you that it’s 20 degrees too cold outside for a backless moment.

SCHMOOZE CLOCK

Counts down the number of minutes you have left in you to make small talk with Joel from the marketing team at your colleague’s retirement party before you experience spiritual annihilation. You can press “snooze” by downing a glass of wine or a handful of cocktail wieners, but you’re only delaying the inevitable. When times run out, you’ll depart abruptly, muttering something about how it feels an hour later than it is (even though it actually feels like an hour earlier).

LITTLE TREAT CLOCK

In a persistent alert that sounds very much like the siren song of three concluding microwave beeps, this clock whispers, “you deserve this.” This clock is especially active around daylight saving time because if you can’t get your hour of sleep back, you’re sure as hell going to need some overpriced caffeinated beverages and leftover Valentine’s Day chocolate to get you through the day.

"I'M A CUCKOO" CLOCK

If you were in college in the early aughts, chances are you are occasionally overtaken by this internal clock, which unleashes a powerful urge to hear one very specific song by Belle and Sebastian.

ATOMIC HABITS CLOCK

Measures how long you’ll be able to “spring ahead” with a new lifestyle change before backsliding into your default comforting-yet-terrible-for-you habits.

POP N' CLOCK

Keeps track of your remaining years to learn new dance moves. After its final salvo of air horn blasts, your go-to choreography will become frozen in time and people at weddings will start referring to you as “Unironic Macarena Woman.”

FEELINGS OF IMPENDING DOOMSDAY CLOCK

Have you noticed yourself instinctively calculating how much time you’ve got left till a dreaded event, like the last polar ice cap melting, or having to wake up an hour earlier on a weekday? You can thank your Doomsday Clock for that. It’s also responsible for attempts at dissociation through YouTube videos of unlikely animal friendships.

GLOBETROT CLOCK

This is the clock that gets thrown out of whack when you travel across time zones, leading to jet lag. For certain sensitive souls, though, it’s also scrambled by the chaos of scheduling a Zoom meeting with a colleague in Europe, napping in a room with blackout curtains, or eating dinner an hour later than usual.

Author Miriam Jayaratna. Panels by Sólveig Eva Magnúsdóttir.