Winding, Winding, Winding...

I have one, honestly I have an issue of over winding esp. the ones with no power indicators even though I usually try to do the 20-30 winds each day even before going to bed so it will have enough power to last the night and do it again when I wake up… so not sure if I’m over doing it but that watch is still working.

I often wind the watches in my watch boxes just for something to fidget with while I'm watching watch related YouTube videos. It's probably not a great thing to do for a couple of reasons. First of all, it could potentially put unnecessary stress on the keyless works, and secondly it results in extra undue wear on the going train. That doesn't stop me from doing it though, as I find it somewhat cathartic. 

I wear what I want, then they go into the watch box when not worn. Maybe I wear it before it runs down, maybe not. Keeping them running seems to be just unnecessary wear and tear.

Hey dude, the vast majority of modern automatics have a clutch inside that ensures that you can't damage the movement through overwinding.  It's only on vintage watches and some idiosyncratic movements that it's a problem, if I'm not mistaken.

OP, my watchmaker's advice when I asked him this question was the following:

• It used to be the case that you were always advised to keep your watches wound and running, because lubricants in ye olde times would gum up if not kept circulating
• Modern lubricants are synthetic, don't break down or congeal as easily, etc., etc.  
• As a result, his take was that it's fine to let your watches wind down, if you make sure to get them going again without letting them sit for months at a time.  His take was having your mechanical movement constantly going was sort of like having your engine running all the time - will create greater wear and tear over time, but good movements should be able to handle it just fine nonetheless

Just one watchmaker's take!

I don't wind my mechanicals unless I plan to wear it.  I don't leave my car running in case I need something at the store.

thank you sir! See and they say you don’t learn anything in watchcrunch!! 

My response is likely atypical as the two watches I currently keep wound are a Seiko 5 w/o hand wind and a vintage key-wound pocket watch. As the OP states, it becomes ritualistic, habitual, routine. Honestly, it also becomes a personal challenge to keep it going without fail.

So for the Seiko, as I'm morally opposed to artificial winding, actual wear is involved. This is fantastic as it has served as an impromptu fitness monitor, assuring that I do a fair amount of exercise each morning. For the pocket watch, it's a bit of a hassle as I have it kept under a glass dome, and the hinged case back inexplicable has no little crack to slip a thumbnail, just a perfectly even seam all around. The interaction is generally enjoyable, if rushed, because it is still a chore that must be done at an inconvenient time.  But God bless these old pocket watches with their big springs, as it only takes about two full turns.

And then there are two three-handers that I just let run down.

I think this is a collector's 'problem'. If we only had the one watch, it would be running constantly anyway, right?

Seemingly now the consensus is: “It is up to you to decide if you want to let your watch wind down, with the inconvenience of setting the new time and any other complications that may have fallen out of sync being the only downside”. From what I hear, perpetual calendars and some other complications can be a big pain to set if you are only wearing the watch, say, once a week. But again, this is only a downside if you view it as one. Now, am I personally going to let my watches sit in some safe for months and months with absolutely no use?—absolutely not lol. 
 

It doesn’t seem like there will ever be one right answer to this, along with the classic “Is it bad to manually wind an automatic watch often?”

I have 14 quartz and 14 mechanical not having enough time to keep them alive I just wind them when I need to.

I know I don't have to keep them wound, I just like seeing them all showing the same and correct time. 

I'm weird, I've accepted it. Things will go better if you accept it also. ;)

I'm wearing a different watch every day, and my collections of automatics is small enough that the rotation causes them to be worn about once a week. So I really don't worry about it.

I wind as I wear. If I notice a watch hasn't been worn in a month or so I'll give it a  wind just to show it that I care.

I usually have 2-3 running based on what I have worn and am planning to wear, but I don't try to keep them all constantly running.

To complain about winding a mechanical watch is to decry the need for breathing. Why be annoyed at an exercise that keeps the object of your desire running? Do you get annoyed when you have start your car, or unlock your front door to get in?

I concur. 

You’re not weird …you’re special 😁

Your not alone, I've done this many many times over, just to see the whole collection ticking away at the exact same second looks great, like my own world timers, except their all set to EST 🤣🤣🤣

im winding my watch the moment before i wear it 😂😂. but i try to keep all of my watch on rotation on weekly basis

I just let my autos wind down, I wear both of them at least twice a week. Both are definitely budget watches, more for me to try out different styles than anything. I totally don't mind setting them when I have to, but when I got my first one I felt a bit disappointed when I'd go for my Seiko and it wouldn't be going, like I let it down from not wearing it ha ha. 

I have a watch winder with 2 slots that has 5 settings based on how much I want to wind each watch. I have 4 mechanical watches, one of which is a manual, my Reverso. I do about 30 turns on the Reverso each morning to keep it running as it only has a 42 hour power reserve. 
 

Two of my automatics stay in the winder on the lowest setting and one is either on my wrist on in an individual watch box next to my winder if I happen to be wearing my JLC that day. This set up has worked for me and keeps all my timepieces running. 

I own a watch winder with settings to match the individual watch requirements. I use that for the one watch in my automatic watch collection that I wear more than once a week. That way I always have at least one watch ready to go when I need it. This gives me, in my opinion, the best of both worlds: the hands-on relationship I enjoy coupled with convenience

I have two winding mechanicals that I just wind when I wear them.

However I have an automatic komanderski that is such a faff to set the date on that I wind it morning and night even if I'm not wearing it for a week. So this one watch has remained ticking since it came through the letter box about four months ago.

I can't help myself! I'm in the routine of winding it twice daily without fail just to keep the date right! Is that evidence of a compulsive disorder?

It's common for a lot of manual wound movements to lack this feature. For example my sellita sw-210 has a hard stop when winding, if I push it, I can feel that a piece is close to snapping.

I have to pay attention when winding so as not to overwind 

Watch winders. 12 slots. All running  my automatics. I like precision , or perhaps it’s OCD😊🤷🏼‍♂️.

if you are just keeping it in a box , my rule is once a month , wind it up fully and let it run down 

I'm not a mental health professional, but IMO it's just preventative. However, I'm keeping 3 watches with quickset dates running all the time, so I might be suffering (enjoying?) from the same. 

Yep I feel your anxiety/ pleasure!

Yeah, like this circa 1950 Hamilton Barton I inherited from my late father.  I'm careful,  but still not sure.