2/7/20; Week 5: Cultural Differences concerning TIME

Slaves to a Clock 

Mono means one, which means monochronic time has only one time, one schedule we follow, and that's by the clock. It's interesting to me that in monochronic societies we let the clock rule rather than our needs. We don't typically eat when we are hungry or go to sleep when we are tired, we do it at the time we are supposed to. This is an intriguing concept to me because it makes me wonder when we let this little ticking thing rule our lives. Do you guys feel like those who deal in polychronic societies are happier in some ways because they're doing more of what they want, rather than what they're 'supposed' to do? Since they're able to eat when they're hungry and sleep when they're tired, go to the appointment whenever they want, so long as it's with a friend, is that less stressful? Looking at people who I know who live by polychronic time, it seems they are much less stressed and highly strung than the monochronic time followers I'm used to. 

My wedding was a time where I saw the differences in cultural schedules quite plainly. My family is from the United States, and my husbands family are Maori's from New Zealand, so they're Polynesian. And like most Polynesians, they live on polychronic time, where as my all American family is entirely monochronic. We were supposed to set up for the reception at five o'clock, and my father, who's a go-go man shows up half-past four. I could tell as the time ticked on and it well past five, and my in-laws hadn't shown up, my father who was running around like a maniac would look at the time and go a little stiff. He didn't say it, because he was just barley meeting this new family of mine, who was playing at the beach like there was no tomorrow (we were in Hawaii). We really did need the help, there was quite a bit to set up, the reception was at six, and it was probably fifteen minutes before that when they finally showed. Having been already used to my husband and his slow, 'we'll get there when we get there' attitude, I wasn't as bothered as my dad was. My in-laws didn't apologize for showing up late, because to them, it's a wedding, not a job interview. It's something to be enjoyed, and to take however much time is needed. To my dad, they should have been rushing in like he did, setting everything up so it was perfect, right in time for others to show up. 
Who had a more fun, loose, easygoing time at that wedding? You can guess- my Polynesian polychronic in-laws. They weren't bugged when the music wasn't working right in time, and others were on their way, my American monochronic father was though.  

I think this is something to learn from. It's something that I had to learn just being married to someone from a completely different culture. He doesn't take appointments or times so seriously, he takes it easy, unless it's an emergency. This is something I don't do, I hurry and I rush and try to get places right on time, no matter who it is I'm dealing with. Students I have in the future might also be the same. They might not take due-dates or the school schedule as law like other students do, and I have to learn to be patient with that. I have to take into account that they might not want to do something on the same time as I want them to. The same goes with life outside the classroom. When I was going to BYU-Hawaii, where most of the staff is made up of Polynesians related to another, I had to deal with the nepotism that went on there. To me, it was frustrating, and caused a lot of 'wasted time' for me. I have too many instances to mention where there was a mix up in my school stuff because of how slow the system was (believe me I wasn't the only one with this issue either). But maybe I can learn something from them. Polychronic followers are run by a different clock than the one that ticks. Maybe I can learn to be a bit more like them in some aspects, and take things as they come. Afterall, Americans are known to have higher blood pressure because of the constant pressure and persistent need to be functioning. It's that need in monochronic societies to be continuously doing something, going somewhere, that leads to a lack of sleep, or a lack of nutrition because of the incessant reaching for convenient, prepackaged food. I had a friend from Peru tell me she was abhorred by the amount of fast food when she got to America. She placed a lot of value in cooking, and spending time in eating food with family around.   

So that's my question for all of you- what do you feel like you could learn from someone who operates their schedule on a totally different rhythm than yours? Do you feel like there would be merit in adjusting it in some way? Depending on where your from, you might not think so.Or maybe you feel like there's a better way.I know my father is one of those that finds monochronic time to be 'superior; because it tampers with others precious time when we don't take procedure and time as law. He also believes nothing important ever gets done properly without a schedule or plan. Maybe some of you might think polychronic timing would be the superior schedule. My husband is one of those. He thinks that people like my dad are going to die of coronary heart disease from being so tight all the time. Is it really just a cultural paradigm that makes these times seem better or worse to us? Possibly there are pros and cons in following both kinds of time, and we could find a balance. Do you disagree? Why or why not? I'm curious to see what you think!