In the 1950s, the anthropologist Edward T. Hall coined the terms “monochronic” and “polychronic” to describe different cultural attitudes to time management.

In northern Europe and the United States, which Dr. Hall labeled “monochronic” societies, he wrote that people tended to emphasize deadlines and work sequentially, completing one task before... See more

People of the Western world, particularly Americans, tend to think of time as something fixed in nature, something around us and from which we cannot escape; an ever-present part of the environment, just like the air we breathe. That it might be experienced in any other way seems unnatural and strange, a feeling which is rarely modified even when... See more

Time, and how we experience time, is always a cultural creation. Most cultures are taught—to put this very simply—that time is circular. Subsequently, you can see the world being played out in a circular way. What’s interesting about Western cultures is, at some point, we said, “You know what? We’re not circular. We’re an arrow. We’re not looking

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