If Money Doesn't Make You Happy, Consider Time

After I figured out my priorities (took years of challenging myself and introspection) I figured out how to spend my time.<p>Now I do what's important and don't waste my time with other things. I don't try to "life-hack" or make myself as efficient as possible because if I'm only working on my most important things I know I'm spending my time well.<p>I cut my working hours down to one or sometimes two days a week, sometimes more when they need me more. I don't need more money than that -- and I live in Manhattan (no kids).<p>And my life is better than ever.<p>Nothing special about me. Anyone could do it.<p>(I recently had an idea I'm passionate about and may put in long hours for it, which will be following my passions. Making your time your own lets you.)<p>EDIT: to dragons' question of what I do, I work at the company I founded. My compensation is no higher than anyone else's. Working one-fifth time gives me one-fifth pay.<p>The more valuable question is how low are my expenses. <i>I've found much more freedom in needing less than in having more</i>. Cutting out what doesn't add joy to my life creates freedom and joy. That's what I meant by nothing special about me. Anyone can cut waste. Not many seem to.

What about introverted people? The majority of people are extroverted, so this studies result make sense, but a significant number of people are introverted. A simplified definition of introversion is a person whose energy is drained after spending time with people. So the recipe for happiness for an introverted person doesn't necessarily follow the same pattern.<p>After all, the number one piece of advice was "spend time with the right people". But maybe it applies for introverted people too. For me, top of the list for right people is my wife. We can be "alone together". Perhaps curled up together on the couch reading.<p>And introverted doesn't mean that we don't enjoy the company of good friends -- it just means that we need some alone time after to regain our energy. Good friends are often significantly energy draining but are significantly happiness increasing.

You have two ways to value yourself - time and money. I worked in NYC and had a +3 hour rountrip commute. Moving to Boulder, my roundtrip is 10 minutes. I regained 3 hours per day. That's 750 hours per year or 31 days. IMO, nobody sits on their death bed wishing they worked more or made more money - they all wish for more time with their family and friends. Glad I realized that at 26.

I am 60 and for almost my entire life I have only worked 32 hours per week, first for large companies (e.g., SAIC) then for a few smaller companies, and for the last 13 years as a consultant. Lately I have been trying to cut back and partially retire but that is tough since I usually enjoy my work.<p>I have friends and business associates who thrive on long work hours.<p>We all need to figure out what we need out of life.

Faster, better, more happiness! Must optimize time/happiness ratio. Less wasting time. Time lost in the past must be justified. Time in the future must be planned for. Optimal usage is the goal !! (Have you tried sitting on the grass lately? Maybe take a nap in the sun..)

It seems fit to point out that this is the sort of cheese-paring reframed optimization that is only undertaken by people who don't have access to as a great enough level of happiness, money, or span of life as they would like ... and well know it.<p>To think in terms of "well, at least it was <i>quality</i> time" is to admit that we in fact suffer from a poverty of time. In a world where we had enough time to satiate demand, we genuinely would not care whether we spent it well.<p>Ditto for happiness. This may not be the forum for a consideration of the Hedonistic Imperative, but you might give a few moments of thought for the serious vision aimed at optimizing some measure of happiness and pleasure, rather than some measure of wealth or a count of seconds.<p><a href="http://www.hedweb.com/hedab.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.hedweb.com/hedab.htm</a><p>"This manifesto outlines a strategy to eradicate suffering in all sentient life. The abolitionist project is ambitious, implausible, but technically feasible. It is defended here on ethical utilitarian grounds. Genetic engineering and nanotechnology allow Homo sapiens to discard the legacy-wetware of our evolutionary past. Our post-human successors will rewrite the vertebrate genome, redesign the global ecosystem, and abolish suffering throughout the living world."<p>-----<p>Though it has to be said that I'm firmly in the count of seconds camp - until you get a decent supply of those queued and flowing in a pipeline, you're burning your candle at both ends. Crazy to be playing the game like it's ten to midnight on Doomsday when you could instead be helping to fund ways to turn back the clock though biotechnology:<p><a href="http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2008/02/what-is-wealth.php" rel="nofollow">http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2008/02/what-is-wealth.ph...</a><p>In short, debating the value of time spent is the mark of humans who are gnawed inside by the knowledge of their own lack of time. Those humans should give more of their money to the SENS Foundation - that would be the unbendingly rational thing to do.<p><a href="http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2010/10/the-rational-use-for-excess-money-is-longevity-science.php" rel="nofollow">http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2010/10/the-rational-use-...</a>

<i>They discuss how happiness is indeed a consequence of the choices people make.</i><p>I completely disagree. Happiness is a consequence of your outlook on life. It has very little to do with choices, and everything to do with how you perceive yourself, and whether you believe that you should be happy.<p>This TED talk by Brené Brown on the topic is particularly relevant:<p><a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html</a>

I bet a dozen of so developers are reading this, trying to figure out how it can be used in a productivity web app of some kind.

Here is an excellent paper written about a similar premise:<p><a href="http://dunn.psych.ubc.ca/files/2010/12/If-Money-Doesnt-make-you-happy.Nov-12-20101.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://dunn.psych.ubc.ca/files/2010/12/If-Money-Doesnt-make-...</a><p>HN discussion here: <a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3922794" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3922794</a>

I can't remember where I saw the quote, but I am constantly reminded of it in my too-busy life:<p><i>Time is the ultimate luxury</i>

The author of the paper that this article refers to did one of the best Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders Stanford lectures in my opinion.<p>It's an hour but well worth a listen/watch<p><a href="http://ecorner.stanford.edu/authorMaterialInfo.html?mid=2574" rel="nofollow">http://ecorner.stanford.edu/authorMaterialInfo.html?mid=2574</a>

I've always valued my time more than whatever salary I collected. I designed my life so that my financial and social responsibilities have little effect on the type of job I have to take in order to support that lifestyle. I had to make a conscious choice to get this outcome though.

I wonder how Hacker News fits in here. I suspect that a lot of people frequent this place because having a great conversation is probably one of the best ways of spending time vis-a-vis this article.<p>But is Hacker News an empty subsitute? It pushes the same buttons, but is missing many of the components that are only available in face to face conversation.

Also of note: Your health.<p>Your time isn't worth so much, if poor health precludes you from doing what you want/enjoy.

Pleasure, power and peace. The phases of happiness that change every thirty years, in that order.

Yeah.. i did a speed read(aka skimming or reading sample lines from each paragraph). Told myself i'll write an article If money/time doesn't make you happy, try awareness/presence in the moment... Unfortunately that kind of article writing seems to make me unhappy..:-)