Time use, tempo and temporality

Adolph Meyer (1922) suggested that "a full meaning of time and the valuation of opportunity and performance as the greatest measure of time should be central to philosophy of occupational therapy" (p. 642).
The theoretical frame of reference for our studies was described by Farnworth in the Sylvia Docker lecture (2003)*. Farnworth described the relations between people's time use, tempo and temporality and their well being and discussed the implications for occupational therapy theory practice and research.
Tempo is defined as the pace of life. It is determined not only by the biological make-up of each individual but is also reflected in how people translate their values occupationally. It represents a flow of energy in time and in relation to the environment

Temporality reflects one's subjective perception of time.
Time use is an area of social sciences that focuses on what we do with our time and why.


Time use is a central concept in occupational therapy. Our studies focus on the development of a time organization questionnaire for children and adults, as well as on the study of the routines and rituals of families living in Israel from different cultural backgrounds.

* Farnworth, L. (2003). Time use, tempo and temporality: Occupational therapy's core business or someone else's business. Australian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 50, 116-126.