Previous Year Questions

Question :

Directions : Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.

If Tamar Avnet asks her two sons to have lunch with her, the eldest might reply: 'Sure, let's eat at noon,' while the younger might say: 'OK, I'll let you know when I'm hungry.' Her older son lives his life predominantly in clock time, a scheduling style based on what time it is, or how much time has passed. Her other son lives in event time: for him, what happens when, and for how long, isn't dependent on the clock. It's about an internal sense of what's moving you forward. Clock-timers rely on an external cue to tell them when to start and finish work, a hobby or a social engagement. If you are a clock-timer, you may wake up every day at 6:30 am, start working at 9 am, eat lunch at noon, go to the gym at 5 pm, and sleep at 10 pm. An event-timer might wake up when they're no longer sleepy, eat when they're hungry, and work on a project until it's done - ending at no predetermined time.

Avnet and her collaborator Anne-Laure Sellier, a professor of behavioural sciences at HEC Paris, have been studying clock time and event time for more than 10 years. When the two met, they struck up a conversation about being late, and what time meetings start at conferences. They slowly realised that the way they organised their lives was completely different. Avnet, like her older son, relies on the clock to structure her day. If she has to complete a number of tasks, she divides out chunks of time she will dedicate to each one. When the time allotted for a task is over, she moves on to the next one. Sellier found that mysterious: she ended a task when it was completed and not before. 'I'm completely event time,' she says.

We often plan our activities based on the clock out of necessity, so that we can coordinate with friends or show up at the right time to a dentist appointment. But when it comes to how you would ideally plan your days, the research suggests that people differ, with some more drawn to clock time and some more to event time. 'We're all born with a tendency to be one more than the other,' Avnet says. This relationship with the clock affects more than just your to-do list; it may also be connected to how you experience your agency in the world and your emotional experiences in the moment.

To assess whether someone is more of a clock-timer or event-timer, Avnet and Sellier will ask them about how they manage their schedules and tasks, including how much they agree with statements such as: 'When I make a timetable for a task, I usually stick to it' (a sign of being a clock-timer) and 'I don't mind how long it takes to complete a task as long as it is done well' (an event-time attitude). One way of managing your time is not necessarily better than the other, but there are differences associated with each. Efficiency drives clock people, meaning they say their goal is to complete tasks in a set amount of time, and they say they value getting it done. If a clock-timer gives themselves two hours to finish a task, when the two hours are over, the work is over. For an event-timer, effectiveness is more than the stated goal: they will finish working on a task when it feels like it's completed. They value doing the job well, not finishing it at a certain point.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people, suddenly working from home, were thrust into a situation that was more conducive to event time. They could manage their schedules more flexibly and do their tasks when it felt right, and for as long as needed. Sellier thinks that this is one reason why many people are resisting going back to the office full-time: they were event-timers all along. Sellier hopes that one takeaway from this period is that, while clock time is useful, it's not the only way to structure your time. Most people already blend both scheduling styles to some extent, but Sellier believes (with a little bias) that we could all use a bit more event time in our lives.

According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people's time management styles?