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Introduction: A positive focus on the present, the only time zone which we experience directly and permanently, is at least as relevant as perspectives on the past and future in a balanced time perspective and its relation to wellbeing. Yet, few instruments examining a positive present time perspective exist. Two present-directed concepts, mindfulness and flow, that are intrinsically linked to mental wellbeing were analyzed and used to formulate a present-eudaimonic scale that complements the past and future scales of the balanced time perspective scale. The present study addresses the psychometric properties of the present-eudaimonic scale and the modified balanced time perspective scale. Method: 131 participants filled out the present-eudaimonic scale, the balanced time perspective scale, the Zimbardo time perspective inventory, the five facet mindfulness questionnaire-short form, the Swedish flow proneness questionnaire and the mental health continuum-short form. Balanced time perspective was operationalized using the deviation from a balanced time perspective coefficient.

The construct of a Balanced Time Perspective (BTP) predicts a variety of indices of mental health and well-being. We argue that one possible intermediate link between BTP and well-being may be an individual’s sense of presence of meaning in life. Participants ranging in age from 19 to 88 years (N = 192) completed two measures of time perspective (Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory [ZTPI] and the modified Balanced Time Perspective Scale [mBTPS]), mental health, personality, and meaning in life. Correlational results showed that a BTP, mental health, and meaning in life were positively interrelated. Hierarchical regression models showed that a BTP (as measured with the mBTPS) explained additional variance in mental health beyond demographic, personality, and ZTPI scores. Mediation analyses showed that meaning served as a significant indirect link between BTP and well-being.

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Aim and Background: The purpose of the current study is to examine the influence of time perspectives (TP) on the burnout-tendency of health care professionals. The concept of TP delivers a construct on how individuals frame their thinking and behavior on the emotional, cognitive and motivational level towards the past, the present and the future. Consequently, we assume that the TP configuration of health care professionals, determines how vulnerable or reluctant they will be to burnout. TP is assumed to influence the stress perception and the degree of self-efficacy which are in turn well-known factors of influence on burnout. Methods: The sample consisted of 398 health care professionals in Germany. We have measured TPs by the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI) and the burnout tendencies by the German version of the Maslach Burnout-Inventory (MBI-GS-D). Results: The Past-Negative and Past-Positive perspectives were identified as factors that were significantly associated with the burnout dimensions of emotional exhaustion, cynicism and personal accomplishment. The Present-Fatalistic orientation was only associated with cynicism and the Future dimension with cynicism and personal accomplishment. Furthermore, we observed that high deviations from a Negative Time Perspective (DNTP) caused a decrease on all three burnout dimensions. In addition, the influence of the DNTP on emotional exhaustion, cynicism and personal accomplishment was fully mediated by perceived stress and self-efficacy. Conclusion: We identified time perspective as a substantial factor of influence on burnout for health care professions and observed an underlying mechanism of the influence of DNTP on burnout. Both factors are important for practical therapeutic conclusions, as well as for a better understanding of the role of TP for burnout.