Notes from Happier Hour

icon
I took my notes from reading Happier Hour and ChatGPT’d a blog post.

Are you living your best life? Do you often find yourself too busy or too tired to enjoy the things that make you happy? Managing your time is essential to living a fulfilling and joyful life. In this blog post, we will explore some tips that can help you maximize your happiness by managing your time. From time tracking to prioritizing your priorities, these tips will help you organize your time, achieve your goals, and live your best life.

Happiness is a function of how you spend your time,

Time is one of the most valuable resources we have, and how we choose to spend it greatly impacts our happiness. Research suggests that people who prioritize time over money tend to be happier. This is because time forces us to be deliberate with our lived experience, encouraging us to focus on what truly matters.

2 to 5 hours of discretionary time is a sweet spot for most people to maximize happiness.

Discretionary time is time outside of obligatory tasks like work, school, or caring for others. Having too much discretionary time can lead to boredom and dissatisfaction, while having too little can lead to stress and burnout. Research suggests that 2 to 5 hours of discretionary time per day is a sweet spot for most people to maximize happiness.

Focusing on time (rather than money) increases happiness because it forces you to be deliberate with your lived experience.

As mentioned earlier, prioritizing time over money can lead to increased happiness. When we focus on time, we are forced to be deliberate with our lived experience, encouraging us to choose activities and experiences that align with our values and bring us joy.

Time poverty can make you sicker, meaner, insecure, conservative, and unhappy.

Time poverty is the feeling of not having enough time for all the things we need or want to do. Research suggests that time poverty can lead to negative outcomes like increased stress, decreased well-being, and even physical illness. It's important to minimize time poverty and maximize time affluence to achieve greater happiness and fulfillment.

Minimize time poverty/Maximize time affluence:

There are several things we can do to minimize time poverty and maximize time affluence, including:

  • Exercise (moderately) for at least 30 minutes a day.
  • Be kind to others.
  • Be mindful and experience awe in social connections, art, and personal accomplishment.

Track time

Tracking your time can help you understand how you spend your days and identify areas where you can make changes to improve your life. Here are a few tips for effective time tracking:

  • Track your time in half-hour increments.
  • Rank your happiest activities and negative activities.
  • Calculate expenditure percentage allocation and reflect.

Sleep well (7-8 hours) and practice good sleep hygiene.

Sleep is essential for our physical and mental health. Adults should aim for 7-8 hours of sleep per night. Practicing good sleep hygiene, such as avoiding screens before bedtime and creating a relaxing sleep environment, can improve the quality of your sleep.

Stack negative experiences with positive ones to mitigate effects.

Research suggests that negative experiences can have a stronger impact on our happiness than positive ones. To mitigate this effect, try stacking negative experiences with positive ones. For example, if you have to attend a meeting you don't enjoy, try scheduling a fun activity afterwards to balance out the negative experience.