Make active, hard decisions to take time back from commitments that consume it, as this can be a real path towards happiness and prevent a worsening trajectory of time famine.
Actively “job craft” by building more activities that align with your signature strengths and virtues (e.g., social connection, creativity, learning) into your daily tasks, even if not explicitly in your job description. This can make work feel more valuable and fun, improving your well-being without necessarily seeking advancement.
Create a consistent ritual or physical cue (e.g., closing a laptop and covering it, changing seating, family dinner) to signal to your brain that the workday is over. This helps create a clear separation between work and home life, preventing work stress from spilling over.
Avoid suppressing emotions at work, as it negatively impacts performance, puts your body under cardiac stress, and causes you to ignore valuable signals about things going wrong. Instead, acknowledge and address emotions early to prevent them from escalating.
When taking a break, choose activities that are truly engaging, flow-filled, playful, and often involve social connection, rather than just passively consuming media when burnt out. These “nutritious” breaks are energizing and build you up, reducing guilt.
Create a “time confetti to-do list” of small, well-being-focused activities (e.g., deep breaths, gratitude journaling) to do during short, fragmented blocks of free time, rather than mindlessly scrolling or doing unproductive tasks. These small moments can add up to build well-being.
Regularly set explicit intentions for both work and leisure activities (e.g., “My intention is to disconnect from work and enjoy my family,” or “My intention is to make awesome stuff and have good relationships”). This fights natural biases, pulls you back into the moment, and helps you achieve goals with emotional stability.
Be mindful enough to notice when social comparison is making you feel bad (e.g., focusing on someone doing better). Reframe your perspective by comparing yourself to your past self or appreciating your own achievements, rather than fixating on the one person who seems to be doing better.
Practice Mudita meditation by picturing someone doing well (starting with an easy person) and repeating phrases like “May your happiness increase.” This trains you to take pleasure in others’ success, reducing resentment and freeing up mental bandwidth.
Practice the four Brahma Viharas (loving-kindness, sympathetic joy, compassion, and equanimity) through meditation, starting with easy targets and gradually moving to more challenging ones. These practices are trainable skills that can reduce negative emotions and foster emotional stability.
Use the phrase “The story I’m telling myself is…” to articulate your fears and paranoid projections, especially with trusted colleagues. This helps you become aware of these stories, sort fact from fiction, and negotiate with your own “amygdala thinking errors,” reducing associated negative emotions.
Engage in activities that challenge you and your children (or others) together, such as learning a new instrument or hobby. This fosters parent-kid bonding, provides playful flow, and helps you learn and have fun, changing your identity beyond just your job.
Intentionally reframe money spent on time-saving services (e.g., takeout, cleaning, lawn mowing) as a deliberate investment that saves specific amounts of your time, rather than feeling guilty about it. This helps you savor the time savings and feel better about the expense.
Advocate for or adopt a four-day work week if feasible, as studies suggest it can significantly boost well-being and lead to increased productivity by prioritizing important work over “churning” activities.