People have differing attitudes to the significance of time. This is often culturally determined. One well-known classification distinguishes between monochronic and polichronic cultures.

Monochronic people

• Deal with one thing at a time
• Concentrate entirely on their work
• Are punctual and dependable
• Are very efficient, as long as they are not interrupted
• Conscientiously keep to their schedules
• Respect the private spheres of others, are considerate
• Are mainly committed to the task assigned to them

Polychronic people

• Do several things at the same time
• Are easily distracted and interrupted
• Regard schedules as no more than targets to be aimed at
• Enjoy working on more than one project at the same time and switching back and forth between them
• Can frequently and easily change their plans
• Are not bothered by disturbances
• Think good personal relations are more important than precision

Which time-type are you?
The following tips may help you to develop your own time-management skills:

Tips for monochronic people:

• Compile To Do-Lists comprise upcoming tasks
• Keep lists of activities
• Make plans and deal with one task after the other
• Set priorities
• Keep your calendar up to date and use it to plan appointments and activities

Tips for polychronic people:

• Create time lines rather than fixed dates
• Allow time for “following your train of thought”
• Create coloured notes with your activities rather than lists of activities, so that you can rearrange priorities if need be
• Stay flexible but keep an eye on upcoming targets

Cultural researchers have developed various cultural standards and have assigned a number of countries to these standards. Among other issues, their books deal with the culture-specific approaches to time.

>> Richard Lewis, international competence.(In English)

>> Gerd Hofstede, Think local, Act global. (In English)

>> Astrid Podsiadlowski, Intercultural communication and cooperation (in English)

>> Robert Levine, A geography of time. How Every Culture Keeps Time Just a Little Bit Differently (in English)