Purpose: Develop thought processes using timelines.
Explanation: Thinking in timelines involves moving away from spot analysis of individuals and events. Instead, thinking in timelines encourages us to view these spot analyses as instances in timelines which have a past, present, and future. Adopting the timeline way of thinking can add perspective to our often simplistic way of thinking and lead to improvements in awareness, decision making, and confidence.
Approach:
When we encounter a person or event, we make an initial assessment. This is usually completed in a matter of seconds. This initial assessment is brief and represents a snapshot of the situation. At this point, we only have time to focus on superficial features such as looks, demeanour, and our initial emotions. To help us make sense of the situation, we may use our knowledge of previous encounters to make comparisons and form our initial judgement about the people/events. These initial assessments can be incredibly useful and provide us with our "gut feeling," which in situations where we have to make critical decisions fast is invaluable.
Thinking in timelines encourages us not to indiscriminately believe these instant assessments. In situations where there is no time pressure to make a decision, it encourages us to review the assessment in the wider context of its timeline. This can be helpful when endeavouring to understand individuals and events. It is also a starting point to find out more about those individuals/events we deem important enough to investigate further.
Examples of timeline-based questioning:
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What happened before/after the event?
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How did it/or they get there?
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Where are they in their timeline?