This is what happens when your phone’s clock changes on November 2

“Go forward; go back.” That’s the mnemonic we all use to remember how much pain is coming when the weather changes. It’s autumn, the least painful, and since the time on everyone’s smartphone now changes, it will seem like the alarm is ringing an hour late. Advantage: You may sleep more. Disadvantage: Your cat won’t care what the clock says and will simply wake you up to feed him at 7:00 a.m. instead of 8:00 a.m.

But if you’ve never given the time change more than a moment’s thought, and you’re up late tonight when the change from daylight saving time to standard time occurs, here’s what will literally happen.

The weather is tight right now, with the day abnormally lengthening to give us more natural light. All places that observe daylight saving time agree that, during sunny months, astronomical noon (the point where the sun is straight) is 1:00 pm. We fixed this in the fall by repeating a time, putting noon back in its proper place, and making the sundials accurate again.

If you watch the time change in the early morning hours on your smartphone or smartwatch, you can literally see the time. If you’re using an Android phone, set the lock screen clock to analog Settings>Style. If you’re on an iPhone, just look at the Clock app icon, which is a fully functional analog clock. In my experience, the time change will occur at 2:00:01 am on Apple devices. I don’t know why.

When the big moment comes, the little hand will jump to the left and your perception of quantifiable time as a fixed law of the universe will be shattered. The truth will be exposed as an artificial construct, and everything you believe has meaning will be replaced by a void.

For an hour, you will exist in a kind of strange time purgatory. You shouldn’t be awake. If you have ever read Stephen King’s book The LangoliersYou know what to expect in this area. There are no birds in the sky. The food tastes stale. The air in your lungs feels empty. The machines don’t work. Giant disembodied mouths can devour you. The usual. (I’m obviously joking. But read The Langoliers.)

And you’ll probably hate what happens tonight: The clock time you associated with sunset on November 1 will now suddenly change to an hour earlier on November 2, meaning the day will feel “an hour shorter.” The sun will drop below the horizon in the late afternoon, and you’ll suddenly feel vampiric and nocturnal, dining in the dead of night. Young children who are not used to staying up late will suddenly feel like they are learning the secrets of the night, because they are.

Oh, and don’t forget to manually change the little clock using your car’s speedometer. That one is really important.