From time use to time competency: why and how to study our relation to time as a competence

‘Time shortage’, ‘the need to adapt to ever-changing situations’ , ‘hurriedness’, ‘running without progressing’…time seems to be lived and experienced in a way that suggests some sort of unease. While time as being the object of interrogations and difficulties is not new (Rosa, 2003; Boutinet, 2004), some specificities about contemporary (work) time frames require from individuals to develop new forms of adjustments and attitudes. This presentation builds upon a PhD research in sociology seeking to explore how “being time competent” has come to be socially required and the concrete modalities by which this time competency takes form. It bases its analyses on a combination of empirical material: in-depth interviews made with time management coaches and trainers; observation of time management trainings; and self-help literature on time/stress management and on personal development and life project building. Building upon Adam’s timescape concept (1997) and Elias’ suggestion to consider time frames as socially constructed reference points (1992), the presentation will assess which epistemological and methodological implications are at stake when moving the focus on the prescriptive (and value-driven) side of time experience and time use.