This distribution is just something I keep in mind and don’t keep track of. I don’t want to be lost in thought when I do these things. While I might plan only 9% of the time, the actual work happens here: Working out, writing, reading, doing chores, eating, traveling, and so forth.

For example, I spend time creating fitness routines and buying healthy food because I know that’s better for future-me.ĩ0% present-focused: This is when I execute my plans and the time I spend enjoying my days. I always want to be aware of the fact that life can be long. I try to occasionally reflect on the past to learn.ĩ% future-focused: This is the time I dedicate to planning and thinking about the future. But I don’t just think about the past when I journal. I came up with the following balance:ġ% past-focused: I take about 15 minutes a day to journal. That inspired me to think about what it looks like in my daily life. “Depending on the demands of a particular situation, one time perspective must take precedence, while the others may temporarily recede.” In The Time Paradox, Zimbardo and Boyd explain it well: We can’t be stuck in one time perspective. It will help you to enjoy your days, learn from the past, and shape a better future.īut it requires us to find a balance. The 1/9/90 principle of time perspectivesĪwareness of time perspectives helps you to live better because you will make better use of your time. And if you only live for the future, you would do nothing that gives you satisfaction today. If you only live for today, you might spend all your money, eat as much food as you can, drink even more, you name it. A 100% present-focused life sounds ideal, but if you think about what that would look like, it makes no sense. Most people realize that living in one perspective isn’t realistic. Future: A future-oriented person is someone who eats healthy food, gets good grades in school, doesn’t smoke, drink, and is always working towards a future outcome.Present: When you’re primarily focused on the present, you either want instant gratification or enjoyment of what’s in front of you.People who often ask “Why?” are overly focused on the past. You either wish your life was like the “good old days” or you wish certain things didn’t happen. Past: When you’re focused on the past, you’re often paralyzed by what has happened to you.When we think about time, we usually think of the following states and how they impact our actions: The 3 time perspectives of the human mind

That’s how we end up overthinking, stuck in the past, and miserable about our days. We just use our time without having a system.

This is a topic most of us never think about. In that book, they talk about using time perspectives to change the way you live. I recently read The Time Paradox by Philip Zimbardo and John Boyd, who are both renowned psychologists. While we can never avoid wasting any time, and do things that give us energy and joy 100% of the time, we can make better use of the time we have. The average daily time spent consuming content was nearly seven hours a day in 2020! It was of course the year of the pandemic, and numbers were higher than usual.īut still, we waste a lot of our time. But what I don’t get is that every year, people spend more time on their devices. You often hear things like, “time is your most important asset,” and, “you can earn back money but you can’t earn back time.” Why do we often carefully think before we spend our money but don’t do the same when we spend our time?ĭo we value money more than time? If you look at all the inspirational quotes on social media, you would think everyone is conscious of their time. Your answer tells a lot about how you spend your time. That makes me think about something. What does time mean to you? Depending on who you’ll ask, you get one of the following answers:

Past present future time