Positive time use: a missing link between time perspective, time management, and well-being

Introduction: The notion of satisfaction with the use of one’s time has not been operationalized previously. Based on qualitative interviews, we propose a concept of positive time use comprised by four components: self-congruence of daily activities, balance between activities, efficient use of time, and a sense of mastery over one’s time. Methods: Using data from two UK adult samples (N = 173 and N = 357), we developed a new measure, Positive Time Use Inventory (PTUI), and investigated its structural and convergent validity. Results and discussion: The associations of positive time use with balanced time perspective, affect balance, satisfaction with life, sense of coherence, and self-reported satisfaction with time use indicate convergent and discriminant validity of the new measure. Positive time use partially explained the associations of balanced time perspective with subjective well-being and fully mediated the effects of future time perspective and time management on subjective well-being. We propose positive time use as a new model of temporal well-being, which brings together the notions of work-life balance, time efficiency, and time mastery in a single comprehensive framework, helping to inform the time management coaching interventions

Satisfaction with time use and its relationship with subjective well-being

Much research on time use has been based on assumptions about clock and calendar time. Less is known about how people experience their time use, what makes people satisfied with their time use and about the nature of the relationship between the use of time and well-being. This thesis addressed these questions though literature reviews of well-being and time-use and two empirical studies. The first study employed a qualitative design using semi-structured in-depth interviews with 21 purposefully selected participants. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to analyse the data. The ten super-ordinate themes that emerged from the data as contributing to satisfaction with time use were allocated into four overarching categories: Motivation, Organisation, Execution and Evaluation. The objectives of the second quantitative study were to investigate if key themes identified in the previous study would be replicated with a larger sample and to examine relationships between satisfaction with time use, subjective well-being, and locus of control. The study employed a survey design using postal questionnaires, completed by 173 randomly selected Open University students. A factor analysis of the time use questionnaire produced four factors: liking what one does and perceiving it as worthwhile; balance; achievement and responsibility; time anxiety and lack of control. These factors accounted for 40% of the variance in satisfaction with time use. Satisfaction with time use was also found to correlate significantly with various wellbeing measures. The studies highlighted a number of factors contributing to satisfaction with time use previously ignored or under-researched in the time use literature, including motivation for time use activities, perceived balance in time allocation, taking responsibility for one's time, and the sense of achievement. The findings suggest that in terms of satisfaction with time use, time use interventions might be more helpful if focused on psychological aspects of time use, and less on time management techniques

Satisfaction with time use and its relationship with subjective well-being

Much research on time use has been based on assumptions about clock and calendar time. Less is known about how people experience their time use, what makes people satisfied with their time use and about the nature of the relationship between the use of time and well-being. This thesis addressed these questions though literature reviews of well-being and time-use and two empirical studies. The first study employed a qualitative design using semi-structured in-depth interviews with 21 purposefully selected participants. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to analyse the data. The ten super-ordinate themes that emerged from the data as contributing to satisfaction with time use were allocated into four overarching categories: Motivation, Organisation, Execution and Evaluation. The objectives of the second quantitative study were to investigate if key themes identified in the previous study would be replicated with a larger sample and to examine relationships between satisfaction with time use, subjective well-being, and locus of control. The study employed a survey design using postal questionnaires, completed by 173 randomly selected Open University students. A factor analysis of the time use questionnaire produced four factors: liking what one does and perceiving it as worthwhile; balance; achievement and responsibility; time anxiety and lack of control. These factors accounted for 40% of the variance in satisfaction with time use. Satisfaction with time use was also found to correlate significantly with various wellbeing measures. The studies highlighted a number of factors contributing to satisfaction with time use previously ignored or under-researched in the time use literature, including motivation for time use activities, perceived balance in time allocation, taking responsibility for one's time, and the sense of achievement. The findings suggest that in terms of satisfaction with time use, time use interventions might be more helpful if focused on psychological aspects of time use, and less on time management techniques

Beyond time management: how the latest research on time perspective and perceived time use can assist clients with time-related concerns

In this article questions such as “What is a good use of time?” and “How can one’s relationship with time contribute to their well-being?” are raised and discussed with regard to empirical research on various aspects of psychology of time. In the fist part of the paper, the construct of time perspective is considered. It is argued that a balanced time perspective is associated with the highest levels of well-being. The second part draws on qualitative and quantitative research and addresses the concept of perceived time use. Four factors, are shown to play a major role in how people spend their time and how happy they feel with it: liking what one does and perceiving it as worthwhile, balance, responsibility and achievement, and time anxiety and lack of control. The last part of the paper considers practical implications of psychology of time for coaches and other professionals

Personal consultancy: an integrative approach to one-to-one talking practices

Despite a proliferation of ‘one-to-one’ taking practices that include counselling, psychotherapy and coaching, the existing approaches do not seem to by fully adequate, starting from their very names to, more importantly, the help that they can offer to clients. Broadly speaking, counselling and psychotherapy are mostly remedial, and usually lack more ‘positive’ or pro-active elements. Coaching, on the other hand, can be charged with not addressing deeper, underlying issues, and consequently being superficial. Personal consultancy approach allows practitioners to integrate the depth perspective, offered by counselling and psychotherapy, with an opportunity to make constructive, practical changes, associated with coaching. This is possible because all of these practices, in fact, use similar skills, and their domains already overlap to a large extent. In building its framework three essential elements of ‘one-to-one’ practices are considered first: the client, the consultant and the interaction (relationship) between them. On this basis four stages of the personal consultancy process are suggested: authentic listening, re-balancing, generating and supporting. The paper will expand on them, discussing the appropriate attitudes, methods, and techniques that can be used at each stage, in order to assist the process

Beyond time management: how the latest research on time perspective and perceived time use can assist clients with time-related concerns

In this article questions such as “What is a good use of time?” and “How can one’s relationship with time contribute to their well-being?” are raised and discussed with regard to empirical research on various aspects of psychology of time. In the fist part of the paper, the construct of time perspective is considered. It is argued that a balanced time perspective is associated with the highest levels of well-being. The second part draws on qualitative and quantitative research and addresses the concept of perceived time use. Four factors, are shown to play a major role in how people spend their time and how happy they feel with it: liking what one does and perceiving it as worthwhile, balance, responsibility and achievement, and time anxiety and lack of control. The last part of the paper considers practical implications of psychology of time for coaches and other professionals

Validation française de l'échelle multidimensionnelle de satisfaction de vie chez l'élève

29 pagesInternational audienceThis study presents a validation of the Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale (MSLSS, Huebner, 1994) into French on the basis of an 853 student sample selected from grades 9 and 12. The internal reliabilities of all sub-scales (Cronbach's Alpha coefficient ) were above the criterion of 0.70. Exploratory analysis supported a five factor solution, whilst the confirmatory analysis enabled the validation of a six-factor model with five first-order factors fitting onto one second order factor. Convergent analysis demonstrated that the MSLSS correlates well with depression and other well-being measures, as expected. The MSLSS was found to be reliable and valid for the French context. Furthermore, it appears that the scale, and more specifically its academic dimension, is moderately predictive of student achievement.Cette recherche présente la validation en français de la Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale (MSLSS) de Huebner (1994) sur 853 élèves de la 9e et de la 12e année. Les consistances internes (coefficient alpha de Cronbach) sont toutes supérieures à .70. L'analyse exploratoire permet bien de retrouver les cinq contextes de l'échelle, et l'analyse confirmatoire permet de valider le modèle en six facteurs avec cinq facteurs de premier ordre et un facteur de second ordre. Des analyses complémentaires montrent que l'échelle corrèle bien avec d'autres mesures liées au bien-être et à la dépression. Les différents résultats montrent que la version française de la MSLSS offre une bonne validité et permet de façon adéquate de mesurer le bien-être scolaire des élèves dans les différents contextes de l'échelle. Enfin, il s'avère que l'échelle, et plus spécifiquement sa dimension scolaire, est modérément prédictive des résultats scolaires des élèves de troisième mais pas de ceux de terminale

Personal Consultancy: An integrative approach to one-to-one talking practices

Despite a proliferation of ‘one-to-one’ taking practices that include counselling, psychotherapy and coaching, the existing approaches do not seem to by fully adequate, starting from their very names to, more importantly, the help that they can offer to clients. Broadly speaking, counselling and psychotherapy are mostly remedial, and usually lack more ‘positive’ or pro-active elements. Coaching, on the other hand, can be charged with not addressing deeper, underlying issues, and consequently being superficial. Personal consultancy approach allows practitioners to integrate the depth perspective, offered by counselling and psychotherapy, with an opportunity to make constructive, practical changes, associated with coaching. This is possible because all of these practices, in fact, use similar skills, and their domains already overlap to a large extent. In building its framework three essential elements of ‘one-to-one’ practices are considered first: the client, the consultant and the interaction (relationship) between them. On this basis four stages of the personal consultancy process are suggested: authentic listening, re-balancing, generating and supporting. The paper will expand on them, discussing the appropriate attitudes, methods, and techniques that can be used at each stage, in order to assist the process