Consciously choose time over money by being willing to give up money for more free time (e.g., working fewer hours), as this reliably predicts greater happiness and better time allocation towards meaningful activities.
Reflect on a typical day (e.g., a Tuesday) by mapping out activities in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Identify what activities are meaningful, pleasant, stressful, or mindlessly engaged in to cultivate awareness of your time spending habits.
After auditing your time, maximize time spent on activities that bring meaning, joy, or both (e.g., purposeful work, volunteering, family time). Diversify your ’time portfolio’ to include both meaningful (e.g., parenting) and pleasant (e.g., massage) activities.
Reduce time spent on activities that are unpleasant, stressful, or lack meaning (e.g., doom scrolling, excessive email checking). Consider if these can be eliminated, outsourced, or delegated.
Use money to pay others to do unpleasant, non-meaningful, or stressful tasks (e.g., household chores, certain work tasks) to reduce stress and free up your time for more positive activities.
Identify pockets of time that ‘go missing’ (e.g., due to technology traps like email or social media) and proactively schedule positive activities (e.g., walks, conversations, calls) during those blocks instead. Set specific times to actively disengage from technology.
Combine an activity you enjoy (e.g., listening to music or a podcast) with a less enjoyable but necessary one (e.g., errands, exercise) to make the latter more pleasant and effectively ‘find’ more time for what you like.
For tasks you cannot outsource or eliminate, reframe them by connecting them to broader goals or positive outcomes (e.g., seeing how work drudgery helps colleagues, or how chores instill values in children).
Treat your weekends as special ‘vacation time’ by telling yourself they are different and trying to savor them. This helps you be more present, enjoy leisure, and reduce goal conflict related to work.
Regularly reflect on your purpose, core values, and what truly matters in life. Strive to spend your time daily in ways that align with how you would spend an ideal or your last day.
Place physical reminders in your environment (e.g., a tattoo, a note) to help you stay centered on your intentions and goals, encouraging you to savor everyday experiences and disconnect from distractions.
Prepare a list of positive, socially connected activities (e.g., going for a walk, calling a friend) to engage in when unexpected free time arises (e.g., a canceled meeting), instead of defaulting to unproductive habits.
Allocate specific blocks of time (e.g., two hours, twice a week) in your calendar for important work, free from technological disruptions, and treat these blocks as critically as any other meeting.
Dedicate a 30-minute planning session weekly before your proactive work blocks to outline exactly what you will accomplish during those times, ensuring accountability and maximizing their benefit.
When starting a work block, begin with easy, low-level tasks (e.g., editing, fixing references) to build momentum and a sense of competence before transitioning to more challenging or substantial work.
Deliberately incorporate breaks, boundaries, and transitions into your work-from-home schedule (e.g., virtual commutes, starting meetings later/ending earlier) to mitigate increased work hours, time stress, and goal conflict.
As an employer or team leader, shorten formal meetings and create space at the beginning or end for casual chats, or implement ‘random coffee chats’ to encourage spontaneous social connections, joy, and creativity among colleagues.
Take vacations, even short ones of three to five days, to recharge and recover. Employees who take time off return to work happier, more engaged, and more productive, and this helps prevent burnout.
Avoid immediately checking your inbox or starting work upon waking. Instead, take 30 minutes to be deliberate and intentional, reflecting on your purpose to infuse your day with intentionality.
If underemployed or unemployed, find ways to spend discretionary time making a positive contribution to society or helping others. This can foster a sense of competence, control, happiness, and meaning, combating feelings of dissatisfaction.
As individuals and a society, consciously shift work, productivity, and economic success from the absolute center of life to a more peripheral role, prioritizing leisure and social relationships for greater happiness and resilience.
Recognize that becoming more time-focused and time-affluent is not selfish; it enables you to better show up at work and in your personal life, thereby contributing more effectively to society.
Understand that time management strategies like reframing and finding time are beneficial for everyone, regardless of financial status, and can be particularly impactful for those who are financially constrained and often the most time-poor.