diff --git a/rust-arroyo/examples/base_processor.rs b/rust-arroyo/examples/base_processor.rs
index 2b652fe7..012cb70d 100644
--- a/rust-arroyo/examples/base_processor.rs
+++ b/rust-arroyo/examples/base_processor.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 extern crate rust_arroyo;
 
-use chrono::Duration;
+use std::time::Duration;
+
 use rust_arroyo::backends::kafka::config::KafkaConfig;
 use rust_arroyo::backends::kafka::types::KafkaPayload;
 use rust_arroyo::backends::kafka::InitialOffset;
@@ -12,7 +13,7 @@ use rust_arroyo::types::Topic;
 struct TestFactory {}
 impl ProcessingStrategyFactory<KafkaPayload> for TestFactory {
     fn create(&self) -> Box<dyn ProcessingStrategy<KafkaPayload>> {
-        Box::new(CommitOffsets::new(Duration::seconds(1)))
+        Box::new(CommitOffsets::new(Duration::from_secs(1)))
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/rust-arroyo/src/metrics/types.rs b/rust-arroyo/src/metrics/types.rs
index 3c1396bb..ea44eaed 100644
--- a/rust-arroyo/src/metrics/types.rs
+++ b/rust-arroyo/src/metrics/types.rs
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ impl Display for MetricValue {
 }
 
 macro_rules! into_metric_value {
-    ($($from:ident),+ => $variant:ident) => {
+    ($($from:path),+ => $variant:ident) => {
         $(
             impl From<$from> for MetricValue {
                 #[inline(always)]
@@ -82,6 +82,7 @@ into_metric_value!(i8, i16, i32, i64 => I64);
 into_metric_value!(u8, u16, u32, u64 => U64);
 into_metric_value!(f32, f64 => F64);
 into_metric_value!(Duration => Duration);
+into_metric_value!(coarsetime::Duration => Duration);
 
 /// An alias for a list of Metric tags.
 pub type MetricTags<'a> = &'a [(Option<&'a dyn Display>, &'a dyn Display)];
diff --git a/rust-arroyo/src/processing/mod.rs b/rust-arroyo/src/processing/mod.rs
index 329e264d..de246a3b 100644
--- a/rust-arroyo/src/processing/mod.rs
+++ b/rust-arroyo/src/processing/mod.rs
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ use std::collections::HashMap;
 use std::panic::{self, AssertUnwindSafe};
 use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicBool, Ordering};
 use std::sync::Arc;
-use std::time::{Duration, Instant};
+use std::time::Duration;
 
 use parking_lot::{Mutex, MutexGuard};
 use thiserror::Error;
@@ -124,14 +124,17 @@ impl<TPayload: Send + Sync + 'static> AssignmentCallbacks for Callbacks<TPayload
             partitions.len() as i64
         );
 
-        let start = Instant::now();
+        let start = coarsetime::Instant::recent();
 
         let mut state = self.0.locked_state();
         state.processing_factory.update_partitions(&partitions);
         state.strategy = Some(state.processing_factory.create());
         state.dlq_policy.reset_dlq_limits(&partitions);
 
-        timer!("arroyo.consumer.create_strategy.time", start.elapsed());
+        timer!(
+            "arroyo.consumer.create_strategy.time",
+            start.elapsed_since_recent()
+        );
     }
 
     fn on_revoke<C: CommitOffsets>(&self, commit_offsets: C, partitions: Vec<Partition>) {
@@ -141,7 +144,7 @@ impl<TPayload: Send + Sync + 'static> AssignmentCallbacks for Callbacks<TPayload
             partitions.len() as i64,
         );
 
-        let start = Instant::now();
+        let start = coarsetime::Instant::recent();
 
         let mut state = self.0.locked_state();
         if let Some(s) = state.strategy.as_mut() {
@@ -173,7 +176,7 @@ impl<TPayload: Send + Sync + 'static> AssignmentCallbacks for Callbacks<TPayload
         self.0.set_paused(false);
         state.clear_backpressure();
 
-        timer!("arroyo.consumer.join.time", start.elapsed());
+        timer!("arroyo.consumer.join.time", start.elapsed_since_recent());
 
         tracing::info!("Partition revocation complete.");
 
@@ -192,6 +195,7 @@ pub struct StreamProcessor<TPayload: Clone> {
     processor_handle: ProcessorHandle,
     buffered_messages: BufferedMessages<TPayload>,
     metrics_buffer: metrics_buffer::MetricsBuffer,
+    _time_updater: coarsetime::Updater,
 }
 
 impl StreamProcessor<KafkaPayload> {
@@ -230,6 +234,7 @@ impl<TPayload: Clone + Send + Sync + 'static> StreamProcessor<TPayload> {
             },
             buffered_messages: BufferedMessages::new(max_buffered_messages_per_partition),
             metrics_buffer: metrics_buffer::MetricsBuffer::new(),
+            _time_updater: coarsetime::Updater::new(10).start().unwrap(),
         }
     }
 
@@ -254,12 +259,14 @@ impl<TPayload: Clone + Send + Sync + 'static> StreamProcessor<TPayload> {
         } else if self.message.is_none() {
             // Otherwise, we need to try fetch a new message from the consumer,
             // even if there is no active assignment and/or processing strategy.
-            let poll_start = Instant::now();
+            let poll_start = coarsetime::Instant::recent();
             //TODO: Support errors properly
             match self.consumer.poll(Some(Duration::from_secs(1))) {
                 Ok(msg) => {
-                    self.metrics_buffer
-                        .incr_timing("arroyo.consumer.poll.time", poll_start.elapsed());
+                    self.metrics_buffer.incr_timing(
+                        "arroyo.consumer.poll.time",
+                        poll_start.elapsed_since_recent().into(),
+                    );
 
                     if let Some(broker_msg) = msg {
                         self.message = Some(Message {
@@ -289,7 +296,7 @@ impl<TPayload: Clone + Send + Sync + 'static> StreamProcessor<TPayload> {
                 Some(_) => return Err(RunError::InvalidState),
             }
         };
-        let processing_start = Instant::now();
+        let processing_start = coarsetime::Instant::recent();
 
         match strategy.poll() {
             Ok(None) => {}
@@ -321,7 +328,7 @@ impl<TPayload: Clone + Send + Sync + 'static> StreamProcessor<TPayload> {
         let Some(msg_s) = self.message.take() else {
             self.metrics_buffer.incr_timing(
                 "arroyo.consumer.processing.time",
-                processing_start.elapsed(),
+                processing_start.elapsed_since_recent().into(),
             );
             return Ok(());
         };
@@ -329,7 +336,7 @@ impl<TPayload: Clone + Send + Sync + 'static> StreamProcessor<TPayload> {
         let ret = strategy.submit(msg_s);
         self.metrics_buffer.incr_timing(
             "arroyo.consumer.processing.time",
-            processing_start.elapsed(),
+            processing_start.elapsed_since_recent().into(),
         );
 
         match ret {
diff --git a/rust-arroyo/src/processing/strategies/commit_offsets.rs b/rust-arroyo/src/processing/strategies/commit_offsets.rs
index 8c3fb052..398fbfa9 100644
--- a/rust-arroyo/src/processing/strategies/commit_offsets.rs
+++ b/rust-arroyo/src/processing/strategies/commit_offsets.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 use std::collections::HashMap;
+use std::time::Duration;
 
-use chrono::{DateTime, Duration, Utc};
+use chrono::Utc;
 
 use crate::processing::strategies::{CommitRequest, ProcessingStrategy, SubmitError};
 use crate::timer;
@@ -10,27 +11,30 @@ use super::StrategyError;
 
 pub struct CommitOffsets {
     partitions: HashMap<Partition, u64>,
-    last_commit_time: DateTime<Utc>,
-    last_record_time: DateTime<Utc>,
-    commit_frequency: Duration,
+    last_commit_time: coarsetime::Instant,
+    last_record_time: coarsetime::Instant,
+    commit_frequency: coarsetime::Duration,
 }
 
 impl CommitOffsets {
     pub fn new(commit_frequency: Duration) -> Self {
         CommitOffsets {
             partitions: Default::default(),
-            last_commit_time: Utc::now(),
-            last_record_time: Utc::now(),
-            commit_frequency,
+            last_commit_time: coarsetime::Instant::recent(),
+            last_record_time: coarsetime::Instant::recent(),
+            commit_frequency: commit_frequency.into(),
         }
     }
 
     fn commit(&mut self, force: bool) -> Option<CommitRequest> {
-        if Utc::now() - self.last_commit_time <= self.commit_frequency && !force {
+        // check if there is anything to commit first, since this is much cheaper than getting the
+        // current time
+        if self.partitions.is_empty() {
             return None;
         }
 
-        if self.partitions.is_empty() {
+        if coarsetime::Instant::recent() - self.last_commit_time <= self.commit_frequency && !force
+        {
             return None;
         }
 
@@ -38,7 +42,7 @@ impl CommitOffsets {
             positions: self.partitions.clone(),
         });
         self.partitions.clear();
-        self.last_commit_time = Utc::now();
+        self.last_commit_time = coarsetime::Instant::recent();
         ret
     }
 }
@@ -49,13 +53,13 @@ impl<T> ProcessingStrategy<T> for CommitOffsets {
     }
 
     fn submit(&mut self, message: Message<T>) -> Result<(), SubmitError<T>> {
-        let now = Utc::now();
-        if now - self.last_record_time > Duration::seconds(1) {
+        let now = coarsetime::Instant::recent();
+        if now - self.last_record_time > coarsetime::Duration::from_secs(1) {
             if let Some(timestamp) = message.timestamp() {
                 // FIXME: this used to be in seconds
                 timer!(
                     "arroyo.consumer.latency",
-                    (now - timestamp).to_std().unwrap_or_default()
+                    (Utc::now() - timestamp).to_std().unwrap_or_default()
                 );
                 self.last_record_time = now;
             }
@@ -91,6 +95,8 @@ mod tests {
     #[test]
     fn test_commit_offsets() {
         tracing_subscriber::fmt().with_test_writer().init();
+        let updater = coarsetime::Updater::new(10).start().unwrap();
+
         let partition1 = Partition::new(Topic::new("noop-commit"), 0);
         let partition2 = Partition::new(Topic::new("noop-commit"), 1);
         let timestamp = DateTime::from(SystemTime::now());
@@ -113,7 +119,7 @@ mod tests {
             }),
         };
 
-        let mut noop = CommitOffsets::new(chrono::Duration::seconds(1));
+        let mut noop = CommitOffsets::new(Duration::from_secs(1));
 
         let mut commit_req1 = CommitRequest {
             positions: Default::default(),
diff --git a/rust-arroyo/src/utils/timing.rs b/rust-arroyo/src/utils/timing.rs
index a437b23b..a0af8b08 100644
--- a/rust-arroyo/src/utils/timing.rs
+++ b/rust-arroyo/src/utils/timing.rs
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ pub struct Deadline {
 
 #[inline(always)]
 fn now() -> coarsetime::Instant {
-    coarsetime::Instant::now_without_cache_update()
+    coarsetime::Instant::recent()
 }
 
 impl Deadline {