There is a time for everything in life but unfortunately not a reliable timetable. That's why you never know whether you should rush to make something happen or relax because it's not due for some time. A timer will remind us that we have a cake in the oven, but there's no device that tells us it's about time we baked a cake. If we listen carefully, our inner clock usually tells us when things need to be done. If we don't listen to the inner alert, the outer disaster will normally give us a reminder shortly after.

The gift of good timing is almost the same as the gift of being lucky. Sometimes you have the right idea at the wrong time, or meet the right person at the wrong time. This is just as bad as having the wrong idea at the right time or meeting the wrong person at the right time. Occasionally, all your stars align and the timing is propitious for success; just check that you're not reading yesterday's paper.

Everyone has an inbuilt clock, but very few are showing the same time. The receptions of some offices have clocks showing the time in London, New York and Tokyo. It would be useful to have an array of clocks at home showing what time zone each member of the family was in. People are generally divided into larks who work best in the morning, owls who work best at night and oiks who don't work well whatever the time is.

Sports people generally have a good sense of timing because there's not much point making a superb header if the ball is still 30 seconds away. Comedians also have a natural sense of timing, except when it comes to filing their tax returns. One elephant two elephant is an accurate measure of seconds, but only elephants should be used. If Nasa had used the hippopotamus method instead, their Voyager space probe would have missed Neptune by 30,000 miles.

Time's arrow goes in one direction but at different speeds. When you're young, days go quickly but the years last for ever. As you get older, it's the days that last for ever but the years that speed by. Only people who are 27 experience both days and years at their correct length.