diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 6ef9b70..6dfca90 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ Procedure when bumping the version number:
 - `bot::botrulez::ping`
 - `bot::botrulez::short_help`
 - `bot::botrulez::uptime`
+- `bot::botrulez::format_relative_time`
 
 ### Changed
 
@@ -31,6 +32,8 @@ Procedure when bumping the version number:
   this causes a panic while using euphoxide, consider following the steps
   mentioned in the [tokio-tungstenite README]. If I'm reading the [rustls docs]
   correctly, it is on the users of the libraries to set the required features.
+- `bot::botrulez::format_duration` now no longer mentions "since" or "ago", but
+  instead has a sign (`-`) if the duration is negative.
 
 [tokio-tungstenite README]: https://github.com/snapview/tokio-tungstenite?tab=readme-ov-file#features
 [rustls docs]: https://docs.rs/rustls/0.23.19/rustls/crypto/struct.CryptoProvider.html#using-the-per-process-default-cryptoprovider
diff --git a/src/bot/botrulez.rs b/src/bot/botrulez.rs
index 2120ce3..6dd5adb 100644
--- a/src/bot/botrulez.rs
+++ b/src/bot/botrulez.rs
@@ -7,4 +7,4 @@ pub mod uptime;
 pub use self::full_help::{FullHelp, HasDescriptions};
 pub use self::ping::Ping;
 pub use self::short_help::ShortHelp;
-pub use self::uptime::{format_duration, format_time, HasStartTime, Uptime};
+pub use self::uptime::{format_duration, format_relative_time, format_time, HasStartTime, Uptime};
diff --git a/src/bot/botrulez/uptime.rs b/src/bot/botrulez/uptime.rs
index 7f79ba3..d8b1d0d 100644
--- a/src/bot/botrulez/uptime.rs
+++ b/src/bot/botrulez/uptime.rs
@@ -1,21 +1,29 @@
 use async_trait::async_trait;
 use clap::Parser;
-use jiff::{Span, Timestamp};
+use jiff::{Span, Timestamp, Unit};
 
 use crate::api::Message;
 use crate::bot::command::{ClapCommand, Command, Context};
 use crate::conn;
 
 pub fn format_time(t: Timestamp) -> String {
-    t.strftime("%Y-&m-%d %H:%M:%S UTC").to_string()
+    t.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S UTC").to_string()
+}
+
+pub fn format_relative_time(d: Span) -> String {
+    if d.is_positive() {
+        format!("in {}", format_duration(d.abs()))
+    } else {
+        format!("{} ago", format_duration(d.abs()))
+    }
 }
 
 pub fn format_duration(d: Span) -> String {
-    let d_abs = d.abs();
-    let days = d_abs.get_days();
-    let hours = d_abs.get_hours() % 24;
-    let mins = d_abs.get_minutes() % 60;
-    let secs = d_abs.get_seconds() % 60;
+    let total = d.abs().total(Unit::Second).unwrap() as i64;
+    let secs = total % 60;
+    let mins = (total / 60) % 60;
+    let hours = (total / 60 / 60) % 24;
+    let days = total / 60 / 60 / 24;
 
     let mut segments = vec![];
     if days > 0 {
@@ -36,9 +44,9 @@ pub fn format_duration(d: Span) -> String {
 
     let segments = segments.join(" ");
     if d.is_positive() {
-        format!("in {segments}")
+        segments
     } else {
-        format!("{segments} ago")
+        format!("-{segments}")
     }
 }
 
@@ -56,7 +64,7 @@ impl Uptime {
         let mut reply = format!(
             "/me has been up since {} ({})",
             format_time(start),
-            format_duration(start - now),
+            format_relative_time(start - now),
         );
 
         if connected {
@@ -64,7 +72,7 @@ impl Uptime {
             reply.push_str(&format!(
                 ", connected since {} ({})",
                 format_time(since),
-                format_duration(since - now),
+                format_relative_time(since - now),
             ));
         }