The New Crop: Issue #107
improving your well-being by having a balanced time perspective + "using the DUST model to beat procrastination"
What’s in this issue:
💭 Thought: Improving your well-being by having a “balanced time perspective”
😀 Today’s Smile
That belly laugh! 🤣
💭 Today’s Thought
Do you have a “balanced time perspective”?
According to psychologist Philip Zimbardo, one has a balanced time perspective if they aren’t excessively focused on one time frame (past, present, or future), and if their experience of each of these time frames is mostly positive.
But why care about this? Because it turns out, having a balanced time perspective dramatically improves your well-being.
I recently discovered the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory, which is a 56-question survey that gives you an understanding of how balanced your experience of time is, and where you can improve. It only took me about 5 minutes to complete, and here’s a link if you’d like to take it yourself (it’s free!).
If you take the survey, you’ll get:
One score in each of Zimbardo’s five time perspectives. See this article to read more about each of those perspectives.
A score sheet that shows you average and ideal scores for each time perspective, so you can see where you over- and under-index.
While this didn’t reveal anything massively new for me, it underscored a significant opportunity: I’m overly future-oriented, and under-invest in living in the present moment.
What portion of your mental energy is oriented towards the past, present, and future? Where do you already have a sense you might over- and under-index, and what’s the impact of that?
🖊️ Today’s Reflection
If you’re new to journaling, I highly encourage you to read Nancy Adler’s article: Want to be an outstanding leader? Keep a journal.
This week, find a quiet place and gift yourself 10 minutes to reflect on any of these prompts (or invent your own!):
If this time right now is just one chapter in a larger novel about your life, what would this current chapter be called? Why?
Write a thank you note to someone. Sending is optional. :)
📚 Today’s Read
Using the DUST model to beat procrastination
Use the tips from this Think Productive article to identify what’s causing your procrastination, and consequently, what actions to take to unblock yourself:
Is the task too Difficult? (How can you make it easier?)
Is the task too Unclear? (What’s missing and where can you get that info?)
Is the task too Scary? (How can you channel bravery? How can you build momentum to calm the fear?)
Is the task too Tedious? (How can you make it more enjoyable?)
See you next week!
xo,
Anne