Symposium on Early Career International Law Academia: An Indigenous Concept of Time and Its Impact on Time Management:A Personal Reflection in an Early Academic Career (Part 2)

The concept of time is often understood in a ‘linear’ manner: time is going in one direction from the past to the present to the future. Many indigenous peoples, however, do not perceive time that way. Instead, they understand time in a ‘circular’ or ‘cyclic’ manner. According to such a multidimensional approach, we are the centre of time surrounded by concentric time circles. The more important an event is for us, the closer it will be in time. In that way, it is not important ‘when’ something happens, but rather ‘that’ things happen. This two-part blog series sheds light on this concept of time and reflects on personal experiences in an early academic career in international law. Part 1 discusses a circular perspective of time, followed by Indigenous Peoples use. Subsequently, Part 2 illustrates how valuable such an approach is by reflecting upon personal experiences in an early academic career in international law. Eventually, it will become apparent that many lessons can be learnt from such an approach as this makes it possible to effectively manage time in academic life