Five reasons why an inexpensive wristwatch rocks

I'd gone a while without wearing a watch, but I bought myself a Casio wristwatch yesterday. It cost me a whopping $15. It's a non-descript bland, boxy, black and gray job with a dull silvery face and blocky seven-panel liquid crystal display digits — the finest in 1980s technology.

A lot of people don't really need a wristwatch because they have a clock on their phone.  Nonetheless, this watch rocks. I don't mind wearing the same kind of watch I did in eighth grade. Here's why:

• It keeps time.  Pretty basic, but having a watch that doesn't keep time is a bit like having a washing machine that doesn't wash clothes.  And quartz crystal technology all but put Swiss watchmakers out of business.
• I have no worries about appearing rich.  Thomas Stanley's book Stop Acting Rich discusses what kind of watches the rich buy.  Millionaires (save deca-millionaires) tend to lean toward Timex instead of Rolex.  So, an inexpensive watch wouldn't be looked down upon by people much richer than myself.  (Not that this matters tremendously to me, but it's nice to know that it doesn't matter to others, too.)
• This watch doesn't attract thieves.  Let's just say that it doesn't scream “bling.”  Thieves have better watches than I do.
• I'm not nervous about losing it.  Even a $100 watch I'd be concerned about something happening to it, like banging it on something hard or getting it wet.  If something happens to my $15 watch, it's not even close to the end of the world.
• It beeps once an hour.  This is actually the main reason I bought it.  I took a peek at Peter Bregman's book 18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done and eight of the 18 daily minutes taken for moving forward toward your goals involves recommitting to the goals once an hour.  And what is one of the ways to remember to do this once an hour?  Have a watch that beeps once an hour.

It's for the last reason that I hope this cheap wristwatch is the best $15 I've spent in a long time.  Time is irreplaceable and too precious to let it pass by without using it purposefully.