Past focus is generally maladaptive in terms of work and life outcomes such as depression; present focus increases life satisfaction, but correlates with impulsive behaviors; future focus is more cognitive in nature and leads to life and work achievements

Temporal Focus: Thinking about the Past, Present, and Future. Abbie J.Shipp, Brad Aeon. Current Opinion in Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2018.04.005

Highlights
•    Temporal focus is the degree to which people generally think about the past, present, and future.
•    Past focus is generally maladaptive in terms of work and life outcomes such as depression.
•    Present focus increases life satisfaction, but correlates with impulsive behaviors.
•    Future focus is more cognitive in nature and leads to life and work achievements.
•    Emerging research is testing multilevel models, spatial modeling, and profiles related to time.

Abstract: We review recent findings on temporal focus—the degree to which individuals think about the past, present, and/or future. Hypothetically, focusing on each time period could be beneficial as one can learn from the past, savor the present moment, and plan for the future. Yet research demonstrates that characteristically thinking about the past is disadvantageous, thinking about the future is advantageous, and thinking about the present has mixed outcomes. This paper examines these findings to consider where individuals should focus their attention in time, highlighting established (e.g., country level differences) and emerging (e.g., temporal focus profiles) research on the topic.