Me time, couple time and more free time in everyday life. Many people wish they had more time - but is there a sustainable approach to time? Historian David Larsson Heidenblad is looking for the answer.
In many Swedish homes there is a well-thumbed copy of Bodil Jönsson's book Ten Thoughts about Time, a book that sold over 600,000 copies 20 years ago.
In the book, the author discussed clock time, perceived time and the value of the nowadays well-worn Swedish term "ställtid", which roughly translates to "transition time".
Today, conversations about time are perhaps more about overstretched parents of small children yearning for "me time" and acronyms such as FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) and its opposite JOMO (Joy Of Missing Out).
The widespread interest in time is, in other words, the same even though the language and narrative concerning what we do (or should do) with our time has changed in line with the passing of time.
"Natural shifts, such as the seasons or night and day, have become less important. Electric lighting in factories and offices, for example, can be on at any time. This can create an illusion that time is an exchangeable economic resource. We are creatures of time and perceive all changes, in ourselves and through others. Suddenly, a small child has become a teenager. Suddenly, it's time to retire. Meanwhile, a certain place may look and feel exactly like it did three decades ago," says David Larsson Heidenblad, associate professor of history at Lund University
"Deep work is life-changing"
David Larsson Heidenblad's research focuses on contemporary history and themes such as stock saving and the digital transformation of society. Besides teaching and research, he devotes his time to being a parent. He regularly updates his social media channels and writes for the newspaper Svenska Dagbladet.
It would be easy to think that David Larsson Heidenblad has more time than a lot of other people.
But, for obvious reasons that is not so. It is more the case that David Larsson Heidenblad's complex life-puzzle has required him to adopt a number of tactics to ensure all the pieces fall into place. And, above all, there is one strategy that seems to work best.
"Deep work, spending a limited period - say 20-40 minutes - on a demanding task with full concentration and no distractions, has been life-changing for me. It not only means that important things get done at work, but there is also time for the other things that life requires. What is particularly important when planning is to insert plenty of space, for example in the form of buffer days and buffer weeks that are completely blank. Unexpected things always happen and you have to leave space for that," says David Larsson Heidenblad.
Humans have always tried to harness time
People's interest in time is neither new nor particularly different. On the contrary, David Larsson Heidenblad thinks that humans have more or less always tried to harness time in one way or another.
"We have at least been doing this for a very long time. Agriculture presupposes that things can be done that have significance beyond the present moment. And a more complex society places more demands on cooperation concerning time. In addition, time has become the subject of more measurement and control," says David Larsson Heidenblad.
He thinks that views on time change over the course of a lifetime. Many people, of course, talk about the feeling that time speeds up as you get older.
"This is probably due to the widening of our time perception. A summer holiday is a considerably larger proportion of our life when we are 9 than when we are 42. Over time, other people's experiences, as well as history, become an important part of how we understand the ways of the world. As humans we are fortunate in not being completely at the mercy of just our own life experience," says David Larson Heidenblad.
This text is not based on a research study.
