Professor Pozzulo’s Pick (September, 2024)

 Professor Pozzulo’s Pick (September, 2024)

Happier Hour: How to Beat Disctraction, Expand Your Time, and Focus on What Matters Most by Cassie Holmes, Ph.D. (2022; published by Gallery Books)

My Take:

Feel like you never have the time to do the things you want and barely have time to do the things you need to do? In Happier Hour, How to Beat Distraction, Expand Your Time, and Focus on What Matters Most by Cassie Holmes, Ph.D. (2022, published by Gallery Books) the topic of “time” and how to use it to feel happier and more satisfied with life is explored.  

 

Holmes starts with examining data from the American Time Use Survey to answer the question, “What is the relationship between the amount of discretionary time people have in their daily lives and their overall happiness?”. Perhaps not surprisingly, having less than two hours of discretionary time a day is related to lower levels of happiness. –These results hold for Canadians as well!  

 

Holmes notes that people who are “time poor” (i.e., having too little time to do what you want or need to do) can “feel less happy and less satisfied with life”. So, having more time should make you happier and more satisfied with life, right? Not so fast, having more than 5 hours of discretionary time is connected to being less happy! Between 2-5 hours of discretionary time seems ideal.  

 

Holmes describes several studies that show when you make time to do the things you want, you seem to have more time to do the things you need to do. And this in turn, can increase happiness, life satisfaction, and overall well-being. There are many exercises throughout the book designed to increase “happiness, meaning, and connection in your life”. I liked the idea of “bundling” where you combine one task you don’t really like (e.g., folding laundry) and one task you do like (e.g., listening to music). Folding laundry seems to go a lot faster and be more enjoyable. The other exercise that resonated with me was taking a “Schultz hour” which means you take an hour (or even 15 minutes) with no distractions to ponder the bigger questions you’re facing.  

 

This is a powerful book as I think we all grapple with having “enough time”. I was struck by how one’s perception of time and how that time is spent can have a greater impact on well-being than time as a fixed quantity. Holmes makes you take stock of your time and what matters most. Although we can’t change the amount of time we have, we can re-prioritize how we spend our time. And with that, you may find your sense of well-being increases as does your life satisfaction.  

 

Have you tried any of the strategies outlined in the book?