Monochronic versus Polychronic

I loved our group discussion on Monday about the differences between monochronic and polychronic time. Monochronic time is prevalent in America--it is for people who orient themselves around schedules and appointments. Polychronic time is the time that describes an emphasis on relationships and family. While these two ideas are interesting, it becomes more interesting as you discuss how the two modes of time clash. The author of the article we read claimed that the two ideas could never mix; if one person is monochronic he cannot be polychronic, and vice versa.

For example, when I met with my bishop at the beginning of the semester, I was called out of Relief Society in order to do so. I sat down on a couch outside his office where a few other members of the ward waited. After at least 15 minutes, the bishop and the girl he was interviewing walked outside. He brought another person into his office for the next 20 minutes. I ended up waiting an hour and a half for my interview. And I was annoyed. I was on monochronic time and felt that I had wasted a lot of it making small talk with people in the ward that I didn't know very well. Finally, when it was my turn to talk with the bishop, I was hoping to be in and out quickly. We sat down and he asked me about myself. We talked about where I was from and my family and my home life. We talked about school and church and callings. I was astonished at how attentive, even genuinely interested, he was to my situation. Having been in wards where most bishops usher you in and out as quickly as possible, I felt more important than ever. He was working on polychronic time, refusing to let monochronic time take over. I finally recognized the validity of polychronic time and decided that we should not be as set on our appointments as we are on other human beings.

I think this will be important when I go to Tonga. If I am too focused on keeping a schedule and getting things done on time, I will ultimately miss out on learning opportunities provided by relationships with other people. I hope that even now in Provo I can strive to prioritize building and strengthening relationships over being on time to class or work (although these are also significant activities).