Consciously choose time over money when possible, as prioritizing time reliably predicts greater happiness, less stress, and better social relationships compared to prioritizing financial gain. This choice influences career decisions and daily trade-offs, leading to more meaningful time allocation.
Regularly review how you spend your time (e.g., a typical Tuesday) by identifying activities that are meaningful, pleasant, stressful, or mindless. Aim to maximize time on meaningful and pleasant activities while minimizing time spent on unpleasant or stressful ones.
Articulate your core purpose, goals, and intentions in life, asking yourself what you would do if you had one day remaining. Strive to align your daily time allocation with how you would ideally spend your time, or if it were your last day, to live with greater intentionality.
Schedule and protect your leisure time in your calendar as diligently as you would work appointments, refusing to move it for work deadlines. This deliberate protection of leisure is crucial for overall well-being and happiness, as it is often more important than work projects.
Allocate your time across activities that are high in meaning (e.g., parenting), high in pleasure (e.g., a massage), and ideally both (e.g., purposeful work or volunteering). Minimize time spent on unpleasant and stressful activities, similar to diversifying financial investments.
If financially able, spend money to outsource or delegate unpleasant, non-meaningful, or stressful tasks (e.g., household chores, certain work tasks). This frees up your time for more meaningful or enjoyable activities, reducing stress and promoting happiness.
Identify pockets of time lost to mindless, unproductive activities like excessive technology use (e.g., doom scrolling, constant email checking). Proactively substitute these with more positive, intentional activities such as exercising, socializing, or going outdoors.
Treat your weekends as special ‘vacation time’ rather than regular leisure, consciously telling yourself they are different. This reframing helps you savor moments more and feel less goal conflict about not working.
Actively remind yourself to be present in the moment and savor everyday experiences, especially social interactions with loved ones. This practice enhances satisfaction and contributes to a feeling of time affluence.
Maintain a list of enjoyable, meaningful, or socially connected activities to capitalize on unexpected free time, such as a canceled meeting. Instead of defaulting to work or mindless scrolling, use these moments for activities that nourish you psychologically.
Place physical reminders in your environment (e.g., a tattoo, a note) to keep your core values, intentions, and the preciousness of time top of mind. This helps you center yourself and align daily actions with your ‘big why’ despite demanding work or technology distractions.
Break the habit of immediately engaging with work (e.g., checking email) upon waking. Instead, take 30 minutes before going to your desk to be deliberate and mindful, setting intentions for the day to foster greater intentionality and focus.
Schedule uninterrupted blocks of time (e.g., two hours, twice a week) in your calendar for important goals, treating them as non-negotiable as critical meetings. This practice significantly reduces burnout and stress by protecting focus time.
Dedicate a 30-minute planning block each week before your proactive work blocks to outline specific tasks for those focused periods. This ensures accountability and maximizes productivity by preventing you from wondering what to do when the time arrives.
Begin challenging work sessions with an easy, low-level task (e.g., editing, organizing) to build a sense of competence and progress. This approach helps get the juices flowing and eases you into more substantial and difficult work.
Combine an activity you enjoy (e.g., listening to music or a podcast) with a less enjoyable but necessary task (e.g., errands, exercise). This ‘bundling’ makes the latter more pleasant and effectively helps you find more time for preferred activities.
For unavoidable, unpleasant work tasks, reframe them by consciously recognizing their connection to broader goals or how they benefit colleagues. Simply seeing this connection can transform negative experiences at work into something more positive.
Don’t hesitate to cancel meetings if there’s no clear agenda or purpose, as the recipient is often happier than you’d expect. This frees up valuable time for both parties, reducing unnecessary obligations.
Deliberately schedule breaks, boundaries, and transitions (e.g., virtual commutes, no meetings during certain hours) into your workday, especially when working from home. This mitigates time stress and goal conflict caused by blurred work-life lines in a virtual environment.
As an employer or team leader, shorten meetings and create deliberate buffer time before or after them to allow for spontaneous, unscripted social interactions among colleagues. This fosters connection without adding formal social obligations to overwhelmed schedules.
Implement or participate in ‘random coffee chats’ programs (e.g., Donut through Slack) that randomly pair colleagues for casual online conversations. This mirrors spontaneous hallway interactions, fostering joy, creativity, and informal mentorship missing in virtual environments.
Prioritize taking short, frequent vacations (e.g., three to five days) rather than fewer long ones. Research suggests shorter breaks can be more relaxing and effective for recharging without the overwhelming backlog of work upon return.
If underemployed or unemployed, actively seek out and engage in productive activities or acts of service that contribute positively to society or help others. This can boost feelings of competence, satisfaction, and control over your time, even if financially constrained.
Consciously shift work, productivity, and economic success from the absolute center of your life to a more peripheral role. This challenges societal norms that reward constant availability, fostering greater individual and societal happiness and better navigation of economic challenges.