Catalog it

 

In any review of your financial life, Job One is figuring out exactly where your cash is going. The same holds true for time.

 

Write down how you are spending your days, down to the minute, and then take a hard look at the results. Presumably, far too much time is being spent on unproductive periods like commutes¹; scrolling² through anxiety-producing news feeds; or doing stuff you really dislike, mainly because you think you have to.

 

Buy more time

 

Yes, you can essentially³ fund more free time for yourself, by outsourcing chores you despise – like, say, cleaning your house. It will cost you in monetary⁴ terms, but if you can afford it, the effect on your life happiness will be wildly disproportionate.

 

Whillans even came up with a metric to quantify that tradeoff: "Happiness Dollars". For instance, she estimates that outsourcing disliked tasks produces the happiness equivalent of an extra $16,000 in annual household income.

 

Reshape your workday

 

Making time-first decisions could change what your office life looks like – and with everything in flux⁵ right now, your bosses might be more amenable⁶ to creative solutions.

 

If your day is clogged⁷ with time-sucking meetings, perhaps there are some you could skip. If your office reopens, perhaps you could negotiate working from home a couple of days a week. Multiply those time savings⁸ over the course of a year, and you are creating vast amounts of new space in your calendar.

 

Leisure time matters

 

The point of generating more time for yourself is not so you can spend it all playing games on your smart phone or zoning out in front of a TV screen.

 

That is "passive" leisure, and it is fine in moderation – but aim for more "active" leisure that is proven to produce real happiness, like having meals with friends, volunteering, exercising, or engaging in your favorite hobbies.

 

"Time affluence⁹ doesn’t necessarily require major life changes, like quitting your job or retiring early," Whillans said. "It can also be about smaller changes around the margins¹⁰, like how you use the next 30 minutes. Use your hours deliberately¹¹, with more intention, and it will have powerful effects on your happiness."

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