How we THINK about time matters. It’s less about the amount of time we have and more about how we process the concept of time that leads to greater happiness. This is one of my biggest takeaways from writing 668 daily happiness podcast episodes. Tune in to learn more.
Welcome to Everyday Happiness, I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and as we close out this podcast, we invite you to join our happy mail email community, where you’ll continue to get happiness and kindness content delivered straight to your inbox. We think it’s the happiest email in your inbox. You can join at www.katiejefcoat.com
Today, I share one of my biggest takeaways from writing 668 daily happiness podcasts, and that is how we think about time and how it influences our happiness.
The way I have always thought about time has dramatically affected my happiness. Until recently, I didn’t even know it!
As a backstory, and if you have listened to my podcast (especially episodes 38 or 39), you know that sleep is one of my highest priorities, and I get a lot of it. I get my rest, no matter what. In reflection, I think it’s made me think about time in a way that I believe there is always enough time in the day for sleep, a solid 9 hours, no matter what. I am not time famished because I indulge in this ritual of sleep - which many people cut to “get more done.” When you think there is not enough time in the day, it stresses you out - you are less “happy.” However, there is a difference between time affluence and time poverty.
Time is such an exciting concept. We think about it in the sense of being present (mindfulness - this moment in time) and productivity (how much I can get done in an allotted amount of time).
How do we subjectively trick our brains into thinking we have more than enough time when we’re running on the hamster wheel of to-do’s, and the list gets longer every day? I get it. That’s the million-dollar question, right?
Let’s dig into time affluence v. time poverty, so we know our guardrails for this discussion.
Time Affluence isn’t about the amount of time you have. It’s the subjective sense that you have time. This is excellent news. This means we can HACK time affluence without objectively giving ourselves more time. Plus, you don’t need to clear the calendar to feel like you have more time.
I heard that 80% of Americans say they are time-poor - too many things to do and not enough time to do them. When you are in time poverty, it feels like you are wearing the busy badge. It steals our joy because we feel so pulled to continue doing the next thing, and we feel defeated because so much hasn't been done. Usually, time poverty is caused by constant connection to technology, and even when we have leisure, it’s fragmented by checking email, social media, or the ding of the incoming text message. It’s the mindset that there is never enough time. The to-do list is too long. The commitments on the calendar are too overwhelming.
It looks like going to a museum or event with your kids and constantly checking your phone. Time poverty is a goal conflict. You want to be present with your kids, but your mind is always running to the other things that might be on your phone, drawing you away from being present.
This is where I think you can have a tangible impact on your happiness because you can change how you think about your tasks and time.
I go into a lot of detail in my March 2023 blog about Time Affluence. I’ll post a link in the show notes, or you can head over to www.Katiejefcoat.com/blog.
The gist of it is that part of happiness, gratitude, appreciation, joy, contentment, whatever you want to call it, is the reflection and identification of the time when you felt joy, meaning, or satisfaction in the day; all of those feelings contribute to our happiness.
Time affluence can be magic. It can be the first step to unlocking your happiness boost because it’s tangible and practical. The basic idea is that time is subjective, and instead of running around thinking we don’t have time to do the things that are required of us, we take a step back and zoom out and recognize when we have more time than we think. That’s where the magic is.
If we can diversify our time portfolio with meaningful and pleasurable activities, even a few Intentional Margins®, we may do less doom scrolling on social media (non-pleasure) and instead call a friend that brings us joy.
I invite you to protect your time by adding leisure time to your calendar, building in breaks, boundaries, and transitions into your day.
We often think we need these big chunks of time to do things that bring us joy, but in reality, we’re just stealing moments. We don’t need to wait for the weekend to be happy - we can start today and boost our happiness.
The insight is simple. Consider thinking about time as abundant and prioritize what matters most. Yes, we can be busy and balanced. Shifting our perspective on time becomes one of time affluence, allowing us to feel like we have more time, lowering physical and mental health risks. Again, you can dive deeper in my March 2023 blog on this subject.
And until next time, remember, kindness is contagious.
Life is heavy enough; we shouldn’t have to search for happiness. Get the exclusive happiness email, delivered with a smile twice a month to your inbox. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email
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