Tick Tock

Similar to U of M’s “Michigan Time”, Filipinos have their own differential concept of time. For those unfamiliar with “Michigan Time”, at Michigan every class, most meetings and events, begin ten minutes after they say they will. If you’re class is at 9 (that sucks), then it’s really begins at 9:10…if you arrive before that there’s a good chance that the professor will not be there at that time.

But here in the Philippines, time isn’t even that regimented. Things start when they start, regardless of a pre-determined ‘start’ time. The lack of time control is not due to an ignorance towards time management or a concept of time, but rather a more glass half-full approach. An event will start when its participants are ready, simple as that. If you’re supposed to meet a friend at 2, but something comes up, oh well, you’ll meet eventually. There are more important things to worry about, if at all. Obsessing about time management can be seen as an unnecessary worry here. As long as whats supposed to get done gets done, that’s all that matters.

At the construction site I work at two days a week, the building is really coming along, but if you had witnessed our daily progress, you might doubt that it would ever be completed. Breaks occur when someone gets tired or needs a rest, not when the boss says so. If something comes up and you have to leave for half the day, so be it, just return tomorrow. But if you really need something done, people will make sure it gets done.

Not to mention the fact that almost no one here has the same time on their watch or cellphone. Within a group of five ask for the time and you’ll get five different answers without a doubt. And usually the time difference two people have is substantial…there’s always at least one person who has a watch a half an hour early or vice virsa. So basically, time is always flexible in the Philippines.

Yet again I believe we all have something to learn from Filipinos…time only matters when we say it matters. As long as something gets done in the end, why does it matter how long it took or when it gets done? Isn’t the end result the more important factor? Added stress and anxiety over time seems irrelevant now. I myself used to be guilty of time-obsessiveness, without a doubt. I hated being late to a party or a meeting, and couldn’t stand when others made me late as well. Looking back, obsessing about promptness only made the situation worse, moods would lower and tempers began to flare, all because of a silly thing called time.