Monochronic and polychronic

Material derived from: http://www.lifecoach-for-your-success.com/polychronic-or-monochronic.html 

The Polychronic Personality Type

● Polychrons like to keep their time unstructured. 
 
In terms of productivity, they tend to be spatial thinkers and right brain dominant. They tend to hold the entire picture of a given concept, project, invention, etc. in their head and then work at breaking down what they mentally “see” into its basic components for execution usually in their own unique way. 
 
● Polychrons are resistant to detailed plans and strict schedules imposed upon them. 
 
They rarely work with a structured outline or plan of their own. They want the freedom to work as they see fit, guided mostly by internal cues from one moment to the next. 
 
● Polychrons are perfectly comfortable working with many things going on at once. 
 
Moving from one activity to the next as the mood moves them, they can change their plans at the drop of a hat without stress or worry about deadlines. They certainly can and do meet deadlines, but do so in a way that is uniquely theirs. 
 
● Polychrons view time as fluid and/or cyclical, or as a structureless flow that is malleable in nature. 
 
They have a greater sense of the NOW. And it is this quantum “mental presence” that allows them to be open to several things at once, and to shift from one thing to another with ease. 
 
Now, contrast that with… 
 

The Monochronic Personality Type

● Monochrons view time as a construct. 
 
For monochrons, time is structured into fixed components that can be organized, quantified and scheduled, and broke down into fixed elements of seconds, minutes, hours, days, and so on. 
 
● Monochrons prefer working on one task at time beginning to end. 
 
In terms of productivity, they tend to be left-brain, sequential thinkers, who feed their minds through a progressive process— one logical step builds on the next to create the whole mental picture for completing a task. 
 
Whereas polychrons work in reverse. They tend to start with the “whole picture” conceptually, and then work to break it down to its components to complete a task. 
 
● Monochrons view time as finite and linear. 
 
For them, time moves in a straight, unwaivering line from the past, through the present and into future. 
 
● Monochrons are highly organized. 
 
Monochrons love detailed planning, making lists, starting and completing a task before moving on to the next, and organizing their life around a daily routine. 
 
As I mentioned earlier, one type is no better than another… 
 
However, there are advantages AND disadvantages to being either type that are worth pointing out— 
 

Monochrons: Advantages and Disadvantages

To a monochron, switching from one task to the next is not only wasteful and distracting, it is unsettling. They’re more inclined to focus on one task at a time, start to finish, before feeling comfortable enough to move on to the next. 
 
The advantage here is their sense of order. The disadvantage is the possible risk of inflexibility and the inability to accommodate new information. 
 
Because monochrons tend to view time as finite and discrete means that time is perceived as limited. If time is “spent” here, then there won’t be enough of it is available there. If you missed it, it’s gone forever. 
 
When time is perceived as limited, where and how it is spent becomes significant as a point of value. This leads to a tendency to label and judge. “Being late” or “overdue” are perceived as character flaws or as a blatant misuse of time (as in "wasting" time). 
 
The advantage is the ability to prioritize. The disadvantage is the risk of misjudging time value. 
 

Polychrons: Advantages and Disadvantages

Polychrons are a different breed. They love multi-tasking. To a polychron, switching from one activity to another is both stimulating and productive and from their prospective— it’s the only way to work. 
 
Polychrons tend to see time as unlimited and elastic at best. If you missed it, it was meant to be. If what you missed is meant to be, then it will come back around…or maybe you can call it back. 
 
With this view, polychrons are more inclined to be open to several things at once and to be comfortable switching or spreading their focus among many things. 
 
One advantage is their flexibility and adaptability to anything that presents itself at a moment’s notice. The disadvantage is the possibility of overloading, spreading oneself too thin, and/or not finishing a given task. 
 
That said— 
 
Is something resonating here? 
 
Are bells going off? 
 
Do you see yourself in this picture somewhere? 
 
 
I’m sure you can, and once you do, you can now understand why monochrons and polychorns who live or work together might think they are from different planets, because they are clueless to what is happening. 
 
See this dynamic played out in a typical scenario that may be familiar to you… 
 
I’ve entitled it— 
“The Clash of the Chrons!” 
 
…Monochron arranges with Polychron to rendezvous. 
 
Monochron plans the entire day in careful detail. Rendezvous at 10AM at the book store. Off to a meeting followed by lunch and finish off at 4. 
 
Monchron has cancelled all other activities normally scheduled between 9 and 5 and leaves home at 9 so as to be at the book store by 9:45. 
 
At 10:10 Monochron gets a message from Polychron: "I'm on my way. Should be there in 15 minutes." 
 
And then she arrives at 10:45 telling Monochron that she thought she'd get a quick haircut before hooking up but got held up at the salon. 
 
They are already 15 minutes late for the meeting and they still have a 30 minute drive to their destination. 
 
Monochron is upset because she doesn’t like to be late anywhere but Polychron assures her "Relax, it's only 30 minutes, nobody really minds. Happens all the time." 
 
And by the time the two arrive for lunch after the meeting, it's already 3:30 and at 4:30 they’re still talking about having dessert and coffee. 
 
Meantime Monochron sees Polychron text messaging, so asked if she has other plans for the day. "Yes." she smiles. She ‘s attending a gallery opening at 5 and catching a movie in the evening. 
 
Monochron tells Polychron "We might still be here at 5." Polychron replies, "Yeah, I know. That ‘s why I am messaging the guy to say I’ll be there a bit late! 
 
 
Because of the way polychrons view time, lateness is a commonplace. This only makes sense because, to a polychron, exact dates and times are not really meaningful and therefore not all that important. 
 
Try telling this to a monochron who is kept waiting by a polychron. In the scenario above, Polychron squeezes in a last-minute haircut appointment, while Monochron was at the meeting place fifteen minutes early, anxiously looking at her watch. 
 
To a monochron, time is exact and, as she sees it, being late is both rude and disrespectful. 
 
To a polychron, any time — even an exact time — is just an approximation. 
 
If someone keeps him waiting, he doesn’t get upset because it doesn’t really matter. He just figures that something must have happened to hold up the other person, and it's not that big of a deal. 
 
To avoid conflict and a possible third world war…polychrons make the effort to be on time when they really need to be. However, if you asked them their honest opinion, they’ll more than likely tell you that they don't really understand what all the fuss is and why so many people feel that punctuality is a virtue of such high ranking. 
 

So what's the lesson here?

Well, when it comes to managing time, we all believe that our way makes the most sense. The false assumption at work here is— 
 
There’s only one right way to understand time. OUR way. 
 
 
The truth is—there is more than one way to manage time, and neither is right or wrong, better or worse—just different. 
 
 
Now. Let's take this even one step further… 
 
 
According to anthropologist Edward Hall in his book entitled The Silent Language, these two terms can be applied to whole cultures— 
 
So… 
 
—If you’re a monochron, living in a monochronic culture— such as the United States, Canada and Northern Europe— 
 
OR 
 
—if you're a polychron, living in a polychronic culture— such as Latin America, the Arab part of the Middle East, or the sub-Sahara Africa— 
 
—you more than likely fit in without a hitch. 
 
But what if you’re a polychron who grew up in the United States? 
 
You more than likely found yourself frustrated with learning and hating school as a child growing up. There’s a good chance that you were told that you wouldn’t amount to much because of your “learning difficulties.” 
 
You may have even been tagged a trouble maker or at the very least, labeled a special needs child who ultimately grew up not only to find yourself not only at odds with the work habits of the people around you, but also with parents, siblings, or a spouse where disagreeing has become routine. 
 
But again, it all depends on your prospective…. 
 
 
To quote Harly Hahn (www.harley.com) author of Time Sense: Monochron Vs. Polychron, a self-proclaimed polychron— 
 
 
“…being a polychron in a monochronic country isn't all that bad. You get to watch all the busy bees around you, planning, scheduling, and working hard, making sure that the many things that need to be done are done and done on time, which means that you get all the advantages (and there are many) of living in a monochronic society. 
 
…as long as you can finesse your way around the demands of punctuality and mandatory deadlines, you can work when you want to, on whatever it is that interests you at that moment. Since you don't need to make an artificial distinction between your work and the rest of your life, you have no need to separate what you think from what you feel. Thus, you can live your life with a great deal of passion, much of which will find its way into your work. 
 
No wonder I feel as if I am always on vacation!” 
 
 
When all is said and done… 
 
How do YOU experience time? Are you mostly monochronic? Mostly polychronic? Do you flip like a flap jack between the two modes, depending on what you're doing? 
 
 
Bottom line? 
 
No matter what your personality type or inclination may be, it is by no means indicative of who you are. Ultimately, how you choose to use and manage your time is just that… 
 
a choice… 
Letzte Änderung: 08.11.2011, 15:42 | 1787 Worte