Yesterday I spoke to a serious problem I have with time – I do not analyze my time in the future the same way I analyze the present.
In other words, when making a commitment in say 90 days from now, I just assume I can find the time (90 days seems so far away) and so make commitments that I should not.
I was happy to learn today that there is actually a name for what I have – temporal myopia.
This is a condition where people can make decisions as to the management of their time in the present but not at some point in the future.
“Only what is located within a certain horizon of presence proves relevant for the actions of the temporally myopic individual.”
Mark Wittman (MIT Press, 2017)
Now, when my wife criticizes me for making ill-founded decisions relative future commitments, I can cite my semi-medical condition, temporal myopia.
Not that she is wrong to criticize me but perhaps she will have a slight increase in her empathy for my situation.
Jim Randel is the founder and author of The Skinny On book series, condensed explanations of important life skills. Randel's books are currently best sellers in China - three of his e-books in the top 100 best-selling e-books in China. The Skinny on Time Management is #10 on the e-book best seller list in China, and #2 on Amazon.com's list of best-selling e-books in Chinese.