5 Ways to Better Manage Your Time

We all know once basic needs are met, money does not guarantee happiness. But what about how we choose to spend our time?

"People often make career choices based on how much money they envision they can make now or in the future. Surprisingly little thought goes into how they will be using their time -- whether they can control their time, who they will spend their time with and what activities they will spend their time on," says Jennifer Aaker, marketing professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Is your happiness connected to how you spend money or time? What experiences have given you the greatest happiness? What would you change about how you invest your time?

Here are five different ways to look at time that can boost your happiness bottom line. Let's take a look at those aspects and a few more as they relate to day-to-day life.

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1. Have more control over your time

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In our increasingly hectic schedules (this is true for kids as well as adults) it is really challenging to feel like we have control over our time. "There are not enough hours in a day," is a popular refrain. What is the answer? Pause. Sometimes even a few minutes of deep breathing can create a greater feeling of control for the day. It allows some space -- literally, "breathing room" -- to assess what is really most important. A friend of mine, who has been on a diet ever since I've known her, has suddenly dropped a lot of weight. I asked her what she was doing and she answered, "I'm still watching my food intake and exercising. The only difference this time around is that I meditate and center myself for about 20 minutes before I start my day. That seems to give me more peace, more control and I can stick to my goals." This is only one woman's story, but it is an interesting one.

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In our increasingly hectic schedules (this is true for kids as well as adults) it is really challenging to feel like we have control over our time.

"There are not enough hours in a day," is a popular refrain. What is the answer? Pause. Sometimes even a few minutes of deep breathing can create a greater feeling of control for the day. It allows some space -- literally, "breathing room" -- to assess what is really most important.

A friend of mine, who has been on a diet ever since I've known her, has suddenly dropped a lot of weight. I asked her what she was doing and she answered, "I'm still watching my food intake and exercising. The only difference this time around is that I meditate and center myself for about 20 minutes before I start my day. That seems to give me more peace, more control and I can stick to my goals." This is only one woman's story, but it is an interesting one.

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Comments

[Sarah Jane Hammontree]

01:25 PM on 07/15/2011

Is it me, or is none of this actual advice for better managing your time? Its more advice on happiness. Randy Taran, were you meaning to write an article on happiness or was it just your background with Project Happiness, whatever that is? Thanks for wasting my time with something irrelevant to me. I'm going to go read an article on Motorcycle repair because I want to fix my toaster.

[garystartswithg]

09:30 PM on 07/13/2011

Best thing i ever did was eliminate rush hour. I get two more hours every day. If people in the burbs want to know why their lives are so stressed its kind of obvious -- you work too hard to have stuff and have no time to enjoy it. Ever known someone that got a 15k kitchen remodel because they were going to learn how to cook? I can cook just fine in my little unrenovated kitchen, thanks for asking!

[RandyTaran]

12:14 PM on 07/24/2011

Great perspective, and two extra hours a day! Well-done!!

[caprawalie]

06:00 PM on 07/13/2011

In a capitalist society more is always better and all at the same time...but the real more is money and whatever it takes to make more of it, believing that is the surest way to happiness.. and the second more is success which is again tied to money...money is believed to buy all sorts of stuff that make people happhy....and time is a victim of all this rush to make more money

[RandyTaran]

12:10 PM on 07/24/2011

Well said. But what if we redefined our definition of success? What if at the end of the day, happiness was the greatest measure of our success? How we use our time really contributes to that happiness. Thanks for your comment :)

[Ayesha Khan]

05:31 AM on 07/13/2011

The Concept of Happiness cannot be Generalized, with the Passage of time our Priorities keeps varying, Happiness is a state of mind of which every Individual is aware. The fast moving world and the Scheduler of daily routine, it is difficult to find the Pleasing moments, Yet, the awareness can be a factor of Happiness. Happiness is different in different Cultures, Societies and also on the Status of individuals, there are no set theories or Laws that can determine Happiness. Mostly while describing how to achieve Happiness people always include the element of Money... Money is a Necessity of Life, it never Guarantee Happiness..However it reflects Happiness. . Those who look for People to tell them how to be Happy do not Deserve to be happy --- Its a Condition one has to create within his limited resources, as the scales of Happiness differs . Happiness is like one's choice for Colors or any Particular Fruit--- No one can force the person to like or dislike without his choice--- countless things in life can make us happy, but the problem is that we are not willing either to Accept them or Differentiate between them. happiness is in small Gestures of Life--- the Big things only amuses us------ " When ever I talk to a Scholar, i am quiet sure that Happiness is no Longer a Possibility--- Yet, when i talk to my Gardener i am Convinced of the Opposite" --( Bernard Shaw )

[RandyTaran]

01:45 AM on 07/15/2011

Ayesha, thanks for your comment. Love the Bernard Shaw quote too.

[Ayesha Khan]

11:43 AM on 07/15/2011

Thanks Buddy i am Happy you liked few lines that i wrote about Happiness.. Its a Topic that requires a bit more Detail --- My self Conviction is Dense that we as Humans Possess such high Intellect and have the ability to Create Happy and Merry Moments out of Trivial Affairs-- But for that we Must overlook a lot of Human Errors-- Its the Smart People who never take Life so Seriously that it may become a burden on us... We must Command our Life --- and i find Mr Bernard Shaw a Very Observant Scholar and love his Quotes---- There is no Such Thing more Precious or Significant than the Peace of our Mind--- Smile and Stay Happy--- Thanks once again ---

[Lawson Meadows]

02:32 AM on 07/13/2011

Thanks Randy,

A good review of what matters most!

Control: focus, awareness, priorities.
Connections: contact, togetherness, sharing.
Activities: pause, choices, play.
Anticipation: visualize, meditate, plan.
Invest: time, emotion, happiness.

… and you’ve got to slip in gratitude somewhere…

The theme of time vs money is universal and too often the two are either confused or combined, which of course is wrong. Even the pragmatic concept of spending time vs spending money is unrelated in its utility: spent money can be replaced, time cannot. Money gives you choices of what to do with your time; time gives you the opportunity to make the right choices.

I might say it this way: The best investment of your money is often in how you spend your time.

Lawson

[decyle]

12:51 AM on 07/13/2011

They forgot "Reading internet article, and commenting on them" (Guilty as Charged)

[policy5]

02:09 AM on 07/13/2011

I do that too!