More Time=Happiness?

In a recent newspaper article I've read titled, "Want to be happier? Start thinking more about death" by Arthur C. Brooks, the author shared tips on how to be happier by thinking about our final hour. It may be a little too much to be talking about D-day this early, but the key takeaway from the article is this:

Be more aware about where you spend your time.

Many may not notice this, but how we spend our time has got a large part to play on our success. Moreover time is a one way resource, you can't live our time that had passed. Everyone has got the same 24 hours a day to spend on something productive, impact full and life changing. 24 hours to apportion and spend on things worthwhile, such as, creating your life's work for example. So get up, get going and get started on making every moment your best!

Try these time-saving tips:

1. Do an audit of how you spend your hours on a daily basis

Start by finding out where your daily hours go by charting out a time sheet and filling in the hours where you are required to work, your down times, meal times etc. This is a visual exercise to get you to identify pockets of time where you can save.

2. Eliminate gaming apps on your phone.

Do you play games on your phone? If you do, I don't blame you. In 2015, the gaming industry was predicted to hit $91.5 billion in profits. Game developers are skilled in their game design to keep your adrenaline high and the result, you being hooked on the game. The more time you spend on the game, the more you are captive audience for their advertisers to market more of alternative gaming products to steal your time.

Do yourself a favour. Delete those gaming apps and gain back the control you have over your time. You may just save on your energy bills too (from constantly having to recharge your phone).

3. Limit TV and social media time.

In a simple Google search, adults spend 5.5 hours watching TV or video content daily. Assuming we have 16 waking hours, that's 34% of our time! All these time are dead space which could be better used in family time, engaging meaningful conversation or even exercising! No more excuses for not looking after your health better now!

4. Make use of your commuting time.

Commuting time is the best time to catch up on reading in my point of view. Instead of just staring out of the window, people watching (if you're not catching up on sleep that is), how about investing that amount of time in reading something that adds value to your personal/professional life? 

If you drive, how about checking out audio books? This is a great productivity tool for busy people! Listen to self help or motivational talks while driving. You're even able to listen to them while doing your daily chores about the house or when you're getting ready for the day, in the morning!

Try these and see what changes they can do for you. 

Be sure to let me know how that goes!

Rajendra Shukla