Leading Blog: A Leadership Blog

Start here. Which do you value more – time or money? There is no wrong answer, and your response can change over time.

But research shows that people who value time are happier, healthier, and more productive.

Six traps make us "time poor" with too many things to do and not enough time to do them:

1. Technology and the interruptions that fragment our time
2. Money/work focus "I'll work hard now for leisure later" (spoiler: later never comes)
3. Undervaluing time
4. Busyness as status
5. Aversion to idleness
6. Saying "yes" because we believe there will be more time later

1. Address why - Do not do things simply to kill time.
2. Allow slack time - Leave time for spontaneity.
3. Know your calendar mindset - Is it time to move on to the next event or do events shape the schedule?
4. Create intentions - Make action statements like “I will use my commute to listen to audiobooks.”
5. Rewards & punishments - Reward if things go well. Penalize if they don't.
6. Engineer defaults - Automatically dismiss distractions like email and notifications.
7. Fight urgency - Schedule or delegate tasks that are not urgent and important.
8. Make leisure leisurely - Appreciate time you gained even if it cost you.

Try these ideas to buy more time:

• Outsource tasks
• Do less comparison shopping
• Don't waste time for savings (e.g. driving 10 miles to save 10¢ on gas).

Active leisure involves things like volunteering, socializing, and exercising. Passive leisure includes activities like watching TV, napping, or online shopping.

Active leisure promotes greater happiness than passive leisure. Spend your leisure time being active!