How To Use Time Management For Happiness (Not Productivity)

Okay, okay, okay relax it’s not as drastic as you think!

It’s a quote from French philosopher Albert Camus.

It leads to the crucial discovery of why we’re actually alive and how we should manage our time to achieve the most happiness.

Think about it, for most people, the answer sounds something like: because I love my family and friends and my dog. I’d miss out on that concert in a few months or I’m going out to lunch next week with an old college friend.

The problem of being unhappy then, is that we don’t manage our time effectively to maximize happiness. Instead we organize it in service of the god of productivity.

There are 3 major factors that contribute to happiness and life satisfaction:

• Overall mindset (glass half full or half empty)

• The hand you’re dealt (income, attractiveness, marital status)

• How we spend our time

Only the third one is 100% within our control — so why not focus on the area we can influence the most.

Blake that’s great, what do I actually need to do with that time?

The Research

1. The happiest activities on average are those that involve social interaction.

2. The least happy activities unsurprisingly involve commuting, work and housework.

   1. Bundling a happy activity with these unhappy activities has been shown to make these experiences more pleasurable. (ie. put on your favourite album and dance around the house while cleaning)

3. The influence of hedonic adaptation means we should work to vary multiple positive activities instead of bingeing a single activity. This is why the first episode of Netflix feels great and by episode four you’re not sure why you’re still watching.

4. Couples who participate in novel experiences together report greater relationship satisfaction. (Go on a hike, take a painting class, learn a new sport)

5. The optimal amount of discretionary time in a day is between 2-5 hours. Anything outside of this window leads to decreased satisfaction even though more free time is usually only seen as good.

6. People who view their life holistically instead of hour-by-hour are generally happier because they will prioritize things that are important instead of urgent.

7. Those who spend money on experiences rather than things report greater happiness. This can be partly attributed to an increase in happiness based on anticipation and remembrance of the event, extending its happiness window.

8. Greater satisfaction is reported by those who spend their money to acquire time back. Think meal services, cleaning services and grocery delivery!

There is an old story about a teacher filling a jar with rocks, gravel and sand.

The jar is a metaphor for our time.

The rocks are our most important things, family, friends, hobbies, health.

The gravel is slightly less important, our jobs or cars.

The sand is everything else we spend our time on.

Most people spend their time filling the jar with gravel and sand first and then complain they can’t fit the rocks in.

It’s time we start putting the rocks in first.

The Refinery

1. Dr Cassie Holmes on the Modern Wisdom Podcast, MBA professor at UCLA with dissertation work surrounding time vs money as a critical resource

2. Happier Hour by Dr. Cassie Holmes

3. Instead of Saying You Don’t Have Time…

4. The Philosophy of Time Management, TEDx talk from Dr Brad Aeon, Researcher at Concordia University

5. Essentialism by Greg McKeown

6. Essentialism on the Blinkist App