Timelines: what are they and what are they for?

A useful tool in therapy to understand our past, present and future.

Each and every one of the things we live, the problems we have, the challenges we face or in general the situations that are part of our lives occur in a space-time continuum, in which a specific event happens at a specific time. That is to say, not everything happens at the same instant, but a more or less prolonged temporal sequence is established.

Understanding an event implies understanding the phenomena that have been occurring over time, and we will often have to understand the phenomena that have been occurring over time.We will often have to analyze what has happened in a situation (either because we want to understand our past, establish a chronology or look for the causes of a specific phenomenon). To do so, it can be very useful to use some kind of graphic element that allows us to represent it. One of the options available to us is to create time lines create timelines.

Timelines: what are they?

The lines of time are graphical representations in form of line whose main function is the one of allowing the correct understanding of the temporary sequence in which one or several phenomena has happened, indicating through diverse marks in the line the different steps or main elements that have been marking the element that we are analyzing and noting down the time or period in which these steps have happened.

For example, we can establish a timeline with the events that have marked our life from our birth to the present, marking the points that we consider key. Another example would be the analysis of a problem or an element of interest, such as the bankruptcy of a company or the acquisition of a learning or skill, observing the elements that have been leading to it over time.

It is also possible to elaborate several timelines on different situations or variables and compare them in order to try to determine visually if there could be a relationship between them and if they have some point in common.

Creating timelines: steps

Creating a timeline can be very useful in many areas and in order to analyze different aspects of a situation.. However, you can't just start writing down elements, it requires a series of steps and the consideration of different elements.

In order to elaborate a timeline it is essential to take into account and follow a series of steps:

1. Assess and decide what we want to represent and for what purpose.

This step seems very logical, but is essential for the timeline to make sense.. It is mainly important to assess the type of data that we are going to reflect and determine which ones should appear and which ones should not. If, for example, we plan to make a timeline of the development of the Roman Empire throughout history, it will not be necessary to explain what happened in territories not linked to it, or to note details about the day-to-day life of a particular subject. The idea is to maintain a certain coherence and to represent only the main and most important elements.

2. Establish time limits

Another important step is to keep in mind where the temporal limits of the representation we are going to make are located.. If we are analyzing the causes of a particular problem that happened a year ago, it is not necessary for our chart to continue to the present day (unless specifically required, for example if the problem has not been solved).

3. Determine the scale of measurement

Our future representation already has a subject and objective and a beginning and an end. But what kind of time divisions are we going to make? We are talking about noting hours, weeks, years, centuries, stages... It is necessary to be clear about this so that we can place the different phenomena on the timeline.

4. Collecting and selecting the most relevant data

Once it has been decided what we are going to represent in the timeline and how to do it, we can proceed to collect and/or decide what we are going to represent in the timeline, we can proceed to collect and/or decide which elements are going to be exposed.. This step may have been done previously before thinking about how it will be represented. On the one hand this process can be strongly influenced by the choice of the time periods to be measured and the scale chosen, but on the other hand it can be the one that marks them.

5. Elaboration of the line and the marks that will represent the different steps to be highlighted

Once this is done, we can proceed to draw the line and the divisions that we are going to make of the chosen time sequence.

6. Placement of the data

Finally the chosen data will be placed in chronological order, and the time in which the and noting also the time in which the event occurred.

Other aspects and considerations in the creation of timelines

Apart from the previous steps, it is necessary to keep in mind that the timeline is a simplified graphical representation of the event.e. We should not insert explanations into it, simply the events or milestones that have been occurring over time. Nor opinions or subjective elements unless they are what we are measuring. The language should be clear and concise.

The line drawn will be a straight line, since it marks the events in the temporal and not functional plane. By this we mean, for example, that we are not making an outline of how something works, but how it has worked over time. Even though we may consider time to be cyclical, we are generally referring to specific dates.

In addition to being able to do it manually, nowadays we have multiple options for creating timelines in different applications and computer programs. For example, applications such as Timetoast (where you can also add images), Tiki-Toki or Timelinr. In a much more rudimentary way, it is also possible to perform them in well-known programs such as Microsoft Excel.