4 days ago
Timely Manner
A recent story in The Times, by Emily Laber-Warren, describes the ways we relate to time, dividing us into two groups. Monochronic people 'tend to live by the clock and are primed, at least during work hours, to prioritize obligations over relationships.' Polychronic people, on the other hand, 'tend to give primacy to experiences and relationships that don't always fit neatly into prearranged schedules.' If you prefer to work on one thing at a time, emphasizing deadlines and seeing interruptions as irritating, you're monochronic. Those who are good at multitasking, who comfortably allow shifts in their schedules if, for example, a friend comes to town and wants to go for a hike — those people are probably polychronic.
The article insists there are downsides with each time personality. Monochronic people can be rigid, missing out on serendipity. Polychronic people can be easily distracted and can have difficulty finishing what they start. But I found myself thinking, as I often do when I read about socially scientific binaries — Type A vs. Type B, maximizers vs. satisficers — that it's secretly better to be the more laid-back type, that life is richer and more fulfilling if you're less rigid and don't, say, view a deadline the way a beast of burden does a plowman's whip. Despite my efforts to be loose and breezy with time, I'm pretty regimented. Calling myself 'monochronic' allows me to justify what I have always characterized as an undesirable uptightness. While I want to be productive, I want so much more to prioritize relationships over industry, to say 'this can wait' when I'm fast at work and someone calls with last-minute theater tickets.
We're obsessed with our attention these days, how it's been captured by our screens, attenuated by too-busy schedules and the impossible pace of modern life. Monotasking is seen as an advantageous skill, deep work and flow states the antidotes to cognitive fatigue. But as we try to marshal our attention, it seems possible we will be tempted to overcorrect. My monochronic preference for uninterrupted stretches of time in which to work — oh, the exquisite relief of turning on 'Do Not Disturb' on my laptop and knowing that it will also silence my phone, my iPad, the text alerts and weather alerts and news alerts and calendar alerts! — often keeps me from engaging with things that would bring me pleasure. I've missed perfect 75-degree days because I need to finish chores before I relax. I tell myself that nothing will feel as good as getting things done, but then I think of the cliché about people on their deathbeds never saying they wish they'd spent more time working.
There's hope: Time personalities are preferences, not traits, so we can shift them. The aim, as in all things, is balance, being nimble enough to shift from one style to another as the situation prescribes. 'Is your goal here relationship building? Then go polychronic,' one expert in the article advised. 'If your goal is to complete a task, then we need to be monochronic for a window of time and shut out all distractions.' While switching gears may feel uncomfortable for those of us conditioned to do the thing until the thing is done, this framing highlights the stakes. Completing the task feels good, but — here comes the deathbed again — the accomplishment is hollow without some flexibility, without letting in the possibility for surprise, serendipity and delight.
AMERICA AND THE WORLD
President Trump will meet with Vladimir Putin in Alaska next week to talk about ending the war in Ukraine. Putin hasn't been face-to-face with an American president since 2021.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine rejected President Trump's proposal of a peace deal that could mean ceding land to Russia.
At the White House yesterday, the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan said they would end their long and bloody conflict.
Trump directed the military to target Latin American drug cartels, a role previously carried out by law enforcement.
But Mexico's president said U.S. forces are unwelcome in her country. 'We cooperate, we collaborate, but there is not going to be an invasion,' she said.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
Trump is removing the head of the I.R.S., two months after he was confirmed. For now, the Treasury secretary will run the agency, which has seen six different leaders this year.
An appeals court said Judge James Boasberg could not investigate Trump officials for criminal contempt after they sent migrants abroad despite his order not to.
Trump doesn't seem to mind that his health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is undoing his vaccine legacy.
Trump wants U.C.L.A. to pay $1 billion to restore its research funding, far more than other universities have agreed to.
REDISTRICTING
The Texas attorney general moved to oust 13 Democrats from the Legislature. They left the state to block a new map of congressional districts that favors Republicans.
Is that allowed? 'It's never been done before,' the attorney general conceded. Our reporters explain the law.
INTERNATIONAL
Colombia and Peru are fighting a war of words over who owns a tiny island in the Amazon River that is home to 3,000 people.
Israel says it is preparing to take control of Gaza City. What does that mean?
How do Times journalists report on the aid crisis in Gaza? Using interviews, data, witness footage, satellite imagery, photography and more. They explain here.
OTHER BIG STORIES
An Army veteran wanted for the killing of four people at a Montana bar was captured after an eight-day manhunt.
James A. Lovell Jr., commander of the near-catastrophic Apollo 13 mission, died at 97. He was etched in cinema history when Tom Hanks, playing him in a 1995 movie, uttered the line, 'Houston, we have a problem.'
A gunman fired at the headquarters of the C.D.C. in Atlanta, killing one police officer before being fatally shot. An official said the man was fixated on the Covid vaccine, which he believed had made him ill.
Film and TV
For some millennials, Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis's return in 'Freakier Friday,' a sequel to the 2003 movie, will provide a surge of nostalgia. Our critic says the movie works best 'if you're there for the memories.'
Curtis, Lohan and their two new co-stars sat down with The Times to discuss the sequel — and what's changed in the 22 years since the first. Read the interview here.
Speaking of 2000s nostalgia: Photos of 'The Devil Wears Prada 2' being filmed on the streets of New York are everywhere. Esther Zuckerman explores what that means in an era of anti-spoiler culture.
Zach Cregger, director of the 2022 horror movie 'Barbarian,' is back with 'Weapons.' Both films show his skill at melding laughs and screams, our critic writes.
Music
'Fleetwood Mac,' the 1975 album that turned the band into superstars, is getting a 50th anniversary rerelease. After half a century, the music still gleams, Jon Pareles writes.
A new book, 'The Gods of New York,' traces four transformative years in the city, 1986 to 1990. Jonathan Mahler, the book's author and a Times reporter, offers a playlist of early rap that captures the turmoil of that era.
More Culture
For the last two years, the Delacorte Theater — home of Free Shakespeare in the Park — has been closed for an update. Here's a look at the $85 million renovation.
London is a global capital for Indian restaurants. Some of the city's most beloved eateries, including the chain Dishoom, are making their way to the U.S.
The teen jewelry chain Claire's has filed for bankruptcy for a second time.
By Desiree Ibekwe
🎸 Ethel Cain, 'Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You' (Out now): On a summer's day about two years ago, standing in a field in West London, I fell in love with the music of Ethel Cain, the southern gothic persona of the singer Hayden Anhedönia. It happened during her performance of 'A House in Nebraska,' a cinematic, nearly eight-minute track about regret and lost love. There was more where that came from — much of the rest of her 2022 debut album, 'Preacher's Daughter,' was just as rich and just as evocative. This new album is supposed to be second in a trilogy of albums from Ethel's perspective — I'm looking forward to entering her cinematic universe once more.
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