Time Privilege is Real
This post is the first of my May 2023 series on time privilege and its implications for meeting and workshop design and facilitation.
Other posts in this series:
Approximate reading time: four minutes.
“Everyone is given the same 24 hours in a day.”
Well, of course, right? How can you argue with such a simple truth?You can’t at face value, but the meaning behind the statement merits further examination
Think about how this statement is frequently used. I most often hear it when people try to prod others into being more productive with their day. It’s usually paired with the example of how some uber-entrepreneur invents a world-changing smartphone app before most of us finish our morning coffee.
Look at Tasha. She gets more done in a few hours than most of us accomplish in a full day. The underlying message is we’re not worthy because we don’t make as much of a difference with our 24 hours as others do with theirs … and remember, we all have the same 24 hours in a day.
Except that we don’t. Not by any stretch of the imagination.
I am self-employed.
I work from home.
I am single.
I live in a “15-minute” neighborhood.
I don’t have kids or pets.
These five facts are the basis of a 24-hour day that undoubtedly is very, very different than others.
Time Discretion and Decisions
For the most part, I have almost complete control over my day unless I am speaking or facilitating for an organization or participating in the occasional conference call to plan upcoming client work.
In general …
I get up when I want.
I work when I want.
I don’t have to commute to an office.
I don’t have to attend many meetings.
No one checks when I punch in or out.
I can quickly walk or bike to the doctor, the dentist, several grocery stores, a large number of restaurants, several sporting and entertainment venues, and my gym.
My compact home is easy to clean and I have no grass to mow since I replaced it all with low-maintenance landscaping.
I rarely experience acts of discrimination or attacks on my identity (gay) that drain my energy.
This is the epitome of time privilege.
This is what genuine freedom of choice looks like, and it is a freedom that people possess in widely varying degrees.
Is it any wonder why so many people favor remote or hybrid work arrangements after the pandemic allowed them to experience more of their day available to them and greater freedom of choice?
We may each start with the same 24 hours in a day, but what is important to acknowledge, understand, and appreciate is how many of those hours are genuinely available for discretionary use and how the energy people can bring to that time will differ.
How often do you consider this reality in your meeting or workshop scheduling, design, and facilitation?
A Day in the Life
If we want to build more effective teams and if we want to strengthen interpersonal relationships, understanding a day in the life of others is a very good place to begin. What do you know (or need to know) about your meeting or workshop participants’ time considerations?
When I was an association executive I found it very helpful to ask my board members, other volunteers, and staff members to tell me about their typical day and/or week. You can learn a lot about others by getting a sense of how their 24 hours (or longer) often unfolds and what choices are available to them about how they spend their time.
I’ve since turned that simple conversation into my version of a “A Day in My Life” exercise that I often use as a part of leadership workshops or organizational retreats that I facilitate. We talk about what really happens in people’s days, not the performative version some may post on social media.
Bottom line?
We don’t all have 24 hours a day available to us for our use. In fact many people have very few discretionary hours at their disposal in any given day.
We need to consider and honor this whether we are talking about meeting or workshop participants, organizations and their employees or volunteers, or communities and their residents.
This post is part of a series on the value of time and better valuing time in meeting or workshop scheduling, design, and facilitation.
Other posts:
How Workshop Previews Can Accelerate Results
Turbocharge Learning and Networking Opportunities By Bridging the Gap
© Facilitate Better and Jeffrey Cufaude, 2023. All rights reserved.
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